


Log Date

by DreamCloudHalo



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: AI’s, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Space, Anaesthesia - Freeform, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Author is sleep deprived but that isn’t new, Background Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), Cooking, Death, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fusion Rifles, Future Fic, Hope this will be good, ITS ACTUALLY DIFFICULT MAKING UP ACRONYMS, Logan - Doctor and Advisor, M/M, Missing arms, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Patton - Cook&Mental Health Advisor, Pillow Fights, Prinxiety - Freeform, Recordings, Robots, Roman - Captain, Spoilers for Episode: Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux | Sanders Sides, THERE IS SWEARING YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, Virgil - Technician, creative acronyms made by yours truly, cutting off limbs, except it’s more like tentacles so does it count, jk they’re not that creative I TRIED OKAY, logicality - Freeform, more tags to be added later, multi chapters, pizza puns, puns, space, space mission, space ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24771169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamCloudHalo/pseuds/DreamCloudHalo
Summary: It’s the year 2046, and four humans have been sent to the edge of the universe...to fix a satellite.Or at least...that was the original plan...Six years stuck in a ship can be tiresome, but with enough adventure and aliens to last a life time, nobody is getting bored any time soon.OrThe Space mission fanfic nobody asked for, but they’re getting it anyway.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 112
Kudos: 96





	1. Another Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four, (slightly) fearless men find themselves in the grips of the unforgiving universe, trying to fix a satellite that has mysteriously gone offline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo. A few notes before you start:
> 
> \- This fic is set in the future  
> \- This is a Logicality/Prinxiety fic, don’t expect any other ships.  
> \- There will be spoilers for SVS: Redux if you haven’t watched it.  
> \- Deceit is the villain (as much as I didn’t want him to be, I don’t like implementing OC’s in fics, so someone had to be the bad guy. It’s alright though, everyone loves the villain :3)
> 
> Alright, if you guys are cool with that, then here’s the fic :)

Log Date: 734  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Logan.  
~

Days were slow in the depths of the universe. Two years had slowly trickled by in the Space Hub, millions of light years away from Earth. Logan was the only one who really kept up with it all. Each day he recorded his findings, if any, in his  
M-IND (Messaging- Indicative Noting Device). A very helpful piece of technology that can record information, send messages back to home base and is a hub for all and any forms of knowledge. 

Logan was the Captain’s adviser, second in command and Ship Doctor. Due to his large expanse of knowledge and emotional dissociation, he was considered the most intellectual of the group. Although conveying his emotions was an issue, Logan found a sense of duty in protecting those on the ship. He was the oldest, after all.

The Captain, and second oldest, was Roman, a flamboyant man with a few years of training in the Captain area. Usually, someone like him would not be chosen for such an important job such as this, but his unfaltering bravery and confidence in dire situations made him ideal for the role. Besides, the whole group could always use a little more sunshine.

Speaking of sunshine, this was mainly provided by the cook and mental health advisor, Patton. Tired of life on Earth, he’d joined the crew to find a new kinds of happiness, even in the cold, icy depths of space. His cooking was phenomenal and every one looked forward to his amazing dinners each night. Patton was there to calm them down, and essentially make sure nobody went insane. 

Of course, the person who usually needed calming down was the ship’s technician, Virgil. The man who had helped the head designer create everything, from the small microwave in the kitchen to the energy reactor in the ship’s core. Unfortunately, the man who had built the majority of everything became severely ill at the last moment, and so had sent his protégée Virgil to help with any needed repairs. Virgil hadn’t had much training, being the youngest and least trained, so was constantly having anxiety attacks; Patton was quick to step in and help him calm down. 

The four made up Mission Trait-OR; sent into Space after a satellite in the further regions of the universe went offline. It takes three Earth years to reach, which is why this mission has lasted so long. Two years have already passed...and each day, the team grows more and more wary as they wonder why the satellite went offline in the first place. 

“Heya Lo’, what are you thinking about?”  
A cheery voice spoke from behind him. Logan turned away from the window and looked over at Patton, who had flounced into the room happily.  
“Good morning Patton. I am not thinking of much, merely going over the past two years.”  
Patton stood next to him and looked out the window. The viewing bay gave them a beautiful view of the local solar system: a mix of cosmic blues and galaxy purples. Patton’s glasses reflected the sight, but when he turned to look at Logan his brown eyes were shining.  
“Isn’t it wonderful? I still can’t believe we get to see this every day.”  
He spoke softly, glancing back - Logan could hardly hear him for some reason, completely lost in Patton’s voice.

“Logan? Logan..?”  
“Ah...sorry, my mind trailed off. Was there something you required me for?”  
Patton smiled sheepishly. He drew his hand away from behind his back and showed it to Logan. A particularly horrible burn ran down from his pinky finger down to his wrist.  
“Um, I burned my hand...”  
Logan took Patton’s hand in his own, analysing it. 

“Alright, I have something that will help. If you’d follow me.”  
The door opened with a swoosh and the two ship inhabitants left the viewing bay, heading towards Logan’s lab. Patton was quiet, probably through the little pain he was experiencing. 

The ship itself was huge. Containing food and rations for at least ten years, a personal gym with a pool, living quarters, huge kitchen and sitting room, and a giant control deck. There were emergency pods and ships, each containing rations, as well as a Cryo Chamber, in the rare instance that the crew had to freeze themselves. There was a technicians quarters where Virgil spent most his time, and a lab where Logan performed his various medical duties, the place where they were headed now. Finally, a laundry room kept their uniforms and a pajama clothes clean - each uniform was coloured to show what jobs everyone performed. 

Logan wore a black and dark blue outfit, the colours of a Doctor, with a necktie that he wore over the top - this was removed when going outside the ship, but he wore it inside. Patton wore a lighter blue and beige space suit, the colours of a cook, with a grey hoodie wrapped around his shoulders, which he would take off during the evenings and wear. Both Logan and Patton had a symbol on the left of their chests to show that they were medically trained, be it emotionally or physically.

Virgil wore a black and purple suit, the colours for a technician, with a purple belt that wrapped around his waist and held his tools. Often he could be seen wearing a patchwork hoodie - something he was allowed to take from his home. Finally, Roman wore white and red, the colours of a Captain; the outfit came with a special ruby sash, meaning he’d had four years of specialist training. 

“Activation Code: Logan.”  
He spoke as they arrived at the doors of the lab, which swooshed open at the sound. Both men stepped inside and Patton hopped onto the patients table, having already been in here countless times, being the clumsiest of the group. Logan pulled on a pair of gloves that complimented his outfit, and then grabbed some ointment from the side. 

“This will feel strange, as you already know, Patton. Just bear through it.”  
Logan explained as he applied it to the burn. Patton winced, but didn’t move too much. The cyan gel looked as if it bubbled. 

“Thanks Lo’, you’re the best.”  
He said with a smile, and Logan shrugged. It was his job, after all, and he performed it as one should. Even if Patton’s compliment did make him feel warm inside.  
“No problem. I shall apply a thin bandage so the gel stays put.”  
Logan explained once more, and wrapped the bandage around. It was synthetically produced so that the wearer could still easily move their hand. Medical technology had come a long way since the First Energy War in the 23rd century. 

“M-IND activate.”  
Logan spoke into a wristband, and a virtual screen popped up. He typed a few things into a file named ‘Patton’, whilst the crew member in question watched. There was a record of all the medical problems that Patton had had whilst on the ship - every crew member had one, so as to keep track of it all. 

“You’re really good at keeping track of these things, aren’t you, Logan?”  
“Well, I must be. It’s imperative that somebody keeps record of the comings and goings on this ship. Without knowledge, one cannot function.”  
Logan explained as his eyes reread the information he’d just typed. The screen disappeared as Logan put his arm down, and Patton stood. 

“It’s 9:00. We should check in at control.”  
He told Logan, who nodded in response, taking off the gloves and putting away the gel. They left the lab and traveled down the long hallway, talking of trivial things, such as what to eat that night and whether they had time for a movie tomorrow. The elevator at the end of the hallway took them up to the control room, where Roman and Virgil seemed to be arguing. 

“You need to ask before you borrow my eyeliner!”  
Virgil seemed to be yelling, a look of thunder directed at Roman, who just shrugged.  
“It’s not my fault I couldn’t find you.”  
“Well, if you looked-“

“Salutations, comrades.”  
Logan spoke loudly so the other two were aware of his presence. The Captain and technician turned their way, and then both looked sheepish when they saw Patton glaring at them with his arms crossed. Logan walked over to his station and sat down, turning on the monitor to observe their surroundings. He left Patton to sort the other two out. 

Despite being beneath the Captain, Patton acted like a parental figure to the three of them. He ensured they ate healthy food and got enough exercise, as well as sufficient sleep. But most of all, as a mental health practitioner, he made sure that everyone got along: the mission was predicted to take six years, and it wouldn’t be ideal if the four of them tore each other apart. 

Logan chuckled as he heard Roman and Virgil utter a quiet ‘Sorry Patton...’ under their breaths. They were a team, together. 

A family. 

Logan was torn from his thoughts as the monitor blared a harsh red. His eyes widened and he stood from his chair harshly, pushing it away.  
“I...I don’t believe it.”  
The other team members had rushed to their stations: Roman took his place at the helm behind Logan, standing: Patton sat at the left, and Virgil on the right.  
“Logan, what is it?”  
Roman asked, pressing some buttons to stop the blaring noise. 

“A ship...it says there’s another ship...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t you just love a good cliffhanger? I’m addicted to them. Expect more later ;)


	2. Breaking and Entering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Virgil board the other ship, completely unaware of what they may find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. ALRIGHT. I can’t describe clothes. I’m fully aware. 
> 
> So when they’re putting on space suits, just imagine a futuristic red/purple space suit for me. 
> 
> Cool. :D

Log Date: 734  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Roman  
~

Roman felt his heart beat faster and faster. Another ship. There was another ship out there. Be it human or...otherwise...this was highly unprecedented. There shouldn’t be other signs of life out here.

He stood still in shock for only a moment, before jumping into action.  
“Patton, contact headquarters, find out whether there were any deployments towards this sector. We need to know if this is human. Virgil, try establish a connection with the ship. Logan, scan it for weapons, so we can prepare for any attacks.”

Everyone jumped into action. Patton created a soundproof bubble around his area so he could talk to home base without the noise in the background. Virgil began opening multiple holographic screens, and Logan was talking to his  
M-IND. Roman checked their own ship’s defences. 

“PR1NCE, confirm shield’s and hyperdrive.”  
He spoke to the computer. The ship itself was called ‘PR1NCE’, a name aptly picked by the Director back at Earth, Thomas Sanders, with whom Patton was currently talking to. 

“Hyperdrive and Shield at 100%, Captain.”  
The computer spoke in a cool voice, and Roman nodded. The safety of everyone aboard was the first priority.  
“Computer, put our Shield’s at 75% and charge the Hyperdrive in case we need an escape. Virgil, status update.”

“I’ve established a connection, Captain, but there doesn’t seem to be an answer.”  
Virgil replied, muting the headset he’d put on. Roman scrunched his eyebrows together, and turned to Patton.  
“What does Home Base say?”  
“They said the last time a ship came to this segment was 30 years ago, Captain. It...never returned.”  
“Ask them for the ship identification number, we need to know if this is it. Logan, report.”

The advisor was quiet. Staring at his monitor. Roman looked up when he didn’t get a reply.  
“Logan? Report.”  
Logan seemingly ignored him. Patton and Virgil turned to face him.  
“M-IND, confirm information.”  
Logan spoke quietly. The robotic voice replied;  
“Scanning....scanning....Confirmed. Life detected.”

Virgil’s eyes widened. Patton covered his mouth. Roman’s jaw dropped. Logan...just stared. 

“Impossible.”  
Patton was the first to speak.  
“Home Base just confirmed that IS the ship that never returned. Home Base said...”  
He trailed off, closing his eyes and shaking his head.  
“Home Base said it was caught in a solar flare, causing its systems to go offline. Their oxygen would have run out almost 27 years ago. Nobody should be alive...”

Roman turned to Virgil.  
“Is there any possibility they could have gotten their oxygen working again?”  
Virgil thought for a moment, then shrugged.  
“It’s a possibility...but technology has evolved so much in the past thirty years. Nowadays it would be easy, but back then...almost impossible.”  
Roman only nodded, his mind exploring the many possibilities of things that could happen.  
“Any advice, Logan..?”

By now, Logan had composed himself and was deep in thought.  
“The best course of action would be to enter the ship, Captain. If we can locate the source of life, we can either rescue it, or if need be...destroy it.”

Roman nodded, and looked at the ship.  
“We’ve established a connection, but there’s no way to get on board if no one responds. We’ll have to open the door manually. Which means...”

Logan, Patton and Roman all looked at Virgil, who by this point was hunched up in his chair, hugging his knees.  
“Virgil...?”  
Patton asked softly, standing up and crossing the room to kneel next to him. Everyone knew Virgil hated leaving the ship. The prospect of dying from no oxygen terrified him.  
“Virgil, we need you. Are you up for it?”  
There was no response from the youngest member of the group for a while, before he looked up.  
“I’m...not going alone, right?”  
He asked, and Roman shook his head.  
“No. I’m going too.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes, really. This is a job for the Captain after all.”  
He smiled his signature grin, even though his clenched fists gripping the desk revealed his true emotions. Concern. Worry. A hint of fear. Only the ever emotion-observant Patton seemed to notice though. 

Virgil took a deep breath, and stood up.  
“Lemme grab my belt...”  
He mumbled, slipping his patchwork hoodie off and leaving it at his chair. Roman nodded, and turned to Logan.  
“You’re in charge. You’ll have to keep an eye on PR1NCE whilst Patton directs us around the ship.”  
Logan nodded, standing from his seat to take Roman’s place at the helm. Patton gave Roman a tight hug before taking over Logan’s seat. 

“It’ll be fine.”  
He said reassuringly, and Roman nodded in response. It had to be true. It just had to. 

He left the control room and took the elevator down to the docking bay; there he took his suit out from its hanger and slipped it on. A press of a button caused it to fit perfectly against his body. The small ejectors of steam on the back acted like a jet pack, and would propel him in the direction needed. Virgil joined him eventually, his belt looked over his arm, and put his suit on. His hands were trembling a little, and Roman felt guilty. He always tired to keep Virgil from doing things like this, but when it was required they had no choice. 

They both put their helmets on, and Virgil clicked his belt around his waist. Then they climbed into an A-Cell, a smaller ship that would allow them to fly close to the vessel.  
Patton’s face popped up in the corner of the screen as they turned their systems on.  
“Unloading from holding station. Charging thrusters...You guys ready?”  
Roman and Virgil both replied yes. 

“Okay, sealing entry hatch, removing oxygen...opening bay doors...”  
The large doors in front of them opened and Roman prepped the engine.  
“Deploy when ready.”

The ship roared, and took off from the space hub, shooting through space. Roman soared around the PR1NCE once, before heading off towards the ship.  
Logan’s face appeared on the monitor.

“M-IND has done some research. The source of life seems to be coming from a cryo chamber. There’s a good chance that whoever...or whatever...it is, they’re frozen.”  
“So they could be human.”  
Virgil spoke up as they approached the ship.  
“Indeed.”  
Logan agreed, before Patton’s face reappeared.  
“You’re approaching the ship. I suggest you try one of the maintenance hatches.”  
He offered, and Roman spun the A-Cell around towards the side of the vessel. 

They slowed to a halt, and Roman turned to Virgil.  
“You okay?”  
The latter nodded, and with a few clicks the hatch opened. Roman and Virgil pushes themselves out, and drifted towards the ship, clipping themselves on with a magnetic rope.  
Virgil pulled off a cover to reveal a mesh of wires.  
“This technology is archaic. No wonder the ship lost power in that solar flare.”

Roman looked around them as Virgil began to change some of the wires. They were in a local solar system; a Red Dwarf was far off in the distance, and about five planets orbited it. The group had already done a basic scan of each to determine whether life could be sustained on it and found nothing. But the Sun was another matter.  
“Logan, that Sun looks unstable. Is there a chance of a solar flare?”

“I’ll look into it.”  
Logan replies as the maintenance hatch opened. Virgil put the cover back on and looked at Roman.  
“That should be good. But don’t take your helmet off inside; there’s no oxygen remember.”  
“You got it, my tenacious technician.”  
Roman winked, trying to lighten the mood. He found a genuine smile come to his face when Virgil’s tense shoulders relax slightly. 

Roman drifted inside, and a flashlight on his shoulder blinked into view, illuminating the dark interior of a very old ship.  
“My god, this is a Colonel level vessel.”  
Virgil mumbled with wide eyes. Patton’s voice came over the comms.  
“You’re not wrong there. This ship deployed from a Earth for a small mission by Colonel Jack Springer.”

“Is there much that’s different about a Colonel level ship?”  
Roman asked, surveying the barren room. Virgil drifted over to a large cover and ripped it off, fiddling with wires as he spoke.  
“They’re called Comets; although this ship may be smaller than PR1NCE, it’s built to be faster. It’s taken us two years to reach this section of the Universe, right? The journey would have taken this ship eleven months.”

A spark emitted from the wires, and Virgil drew back his fingers with a wince of pain.  
“Unfortunately, because it was built to be fast, the engineers overlooked some very vital safety aspects.”  
He dove back in again.  
“Such as the necessary shielding to survive a solar flare.”  
There was a sudden whoosh as the ship burst to life. A few lights flickered on, and Roman felt his body being pulled towards the floor. 

“Okay, I recalibrated the ship’s internal gravity, so we can walk properly. Some of the lights aren’t working though...”  
Virgil slipped a sonic screwdriver into his belt as Roman clapped his shoulder.  
“Great work! Let’s get moving. Patton?”

Roman allowed himself to be guided by Patton, keeping a steady eye on Virgil and the surrounding areas of the ship all the while. Neither of them knew what to expect. Fifteen minutes later, they found themselves in front of a very heavy looking door. 

“How...do we open it?”  
Roman asked curiously, gazing up at it. Virgil looked over at the control panel. It seemed to be sizzling with electricity.  
“No way am I going near that thing.”  
He mumbled, stepping back. Roman thought for a moment, before deciding to consult the more logical crew member.

“Logan? What do you think?”  
Logan’s voice crackled to life over the comms.  
“I believe that it has been built to withstand harsh blasts. However, since this ship was created, your fusion rifles had been invented.”  
Roman glances down at the energy blaster that was clipped to his waist. 

Fusion Rifles, or Energy Blasters, were invented after the Second Energy War, and had since been used by the police back on Earth to help maintain peace. Specially adapted ones had been given to all crew members, as a ‘just in case’ precaution. 

Logan’s was a standard issue, however Virgil had modified it to give a much more powerful blast. Patton’s looked like a crossbow (although he refused to use his, and it was kept in his quarters). Virgil, ever worried, had adapted the core, so that instead of shooting the energy out in a powerful blast, it retained the form of a dagger. And finally, Roman, who had a similar one to Virgil - was given a Fusion Blaster that retained the form of a sword.

Roman took out his Fusion Sword and turned it on. A great sheen of light emitted from the base. Virgil stepped back as Roman thrust it into the door. With a lot of effort, he managed to create a circle big enough for them to fit through, and then kicked it in.  
The room was pitch black, except some eerie blue glows from the cryo chambers. Roman stepped in first, and Virgil (hesitantly) followed.

“It’s so dark...”  
Roman noted, retracting the blade but keeping a tight grip on his sword.  
“The lights must not have-“  
Virgil began, but he tripped over something and landed on the floor. Roman chuckled, turning towards the cryo chambers.  
“They look empty...”  
He wondered aloud, but before he could open it there was a flash of light from behind him and a loud scream. 

“Virgil!”  
He swung around, sword ready, only to see Virgil had backed up into the corner and was staring ahead of him, breathing shallow and face deathly white. Roman turned to see what he was looking at, and by the light of Virgil’s flashlight, he saw what the technician had tripped over earlier. 

A dead body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cliffhangers are bAcK! Yay!!! 
> 
> I know I’m mean. But the next chapter is worth it. 
> 
> Or at least I hope it is. I could be really trash at writing and I just think I’m good. 
> 
> Whatever. This fic is being written regardless.


	3. Yellow Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil finds himself in a panic attack after tripping over a dead body. Of course, that’s not the only thing he’ll find...

Log Date: 734  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Virgil  
~

Virgil was having a panic attack. He knew that it wasn’t ideal, since nobody could really help him. But it’s not like he had them voluntarily. The deceased body had terrified him, especially when he realised he’d tripped over it’s outstretched hand.  
His vision was blurry. He saw a figure crouch down in front of him, but didn’t know who it was, nor did he care. He wanted to go back to the ship, where he could curl up in bed and hide under the covers, hide from everything. 

Patton’s voice spoke calmly in his ear.  
“Virgil? Take deep breaths, Virgil, like we practiced. Nothing can hurt you. Nothing here can hurt you, do you understand? Roman is with you, can you feel Roman?”  
Yes. Yes he could feel Roman. He was hugging him, Virgil assumed. He could feel Roman’s sword close to him, feel its heat. 

“Roman will keep you safe, Virgil. I promise. Just a little more and you can leave, okay? You can do it, Virgil.”  
Virgil took some deep breaths, and after a while he slumped his head against the back wall, retaining his vision little by little.  
Virgil’s hand found Roman’s, and the latter squeezed it reassuringly. 

“Virgil, are you alright?”  
“Y-yeah...just a bit of a shock...”  
The technician replied shakily, and Roman nodded.  
“I know. You don’t have to do anything, you’ve done so much already. Just sit here for a bit, Kay?”  
Virgil silently agreed, and the Captain stood, heading over to the cyro chambers.

“Patton, any way we can get these open?”  
“I’m not quite sure...Logan?”  
There was a brief period of silence, before Logan hummed in acknowledgment.  
“I believe I can open them manually from here. One moment...”  
Virgil heard some keys clacking, and then there was a bleep from the machine. 

“Identification code required.”  
“Logan Berry: Facet 23-G”  
“Processing...”

There was silence for a while, but then a seething hiss spread through the room as each of the four cyro chambers opened. Roman gasped, and Virgil’s hand subconsciously leapt towards his Fusion Dagger.  
“They’re...empty.”  
“All of them?”  
Virgil heard Logan say, but he wasn’t really listening any more. Virgil was rapidly thinking. There was life on this ship but the cyro chambers were empty. The oxygen would have run out years ago, so that means no plant life could survive.  
M-IND is programmed to ignore bacterial life. And yet...something on this ship was alive. 

“Is there a system error with M-IND?.” Patton asked. Virgil saw a figure shoot past the hole they made in the door. He stood slowly, pulling the dagger out of his belt loop.  
“Impossible. It was built by the professor and Virgil back on Earth.”  
Virgil’s heart was racing. He approached the door slowly.  
“Well, everyone makes mistakes.”  
Roman offered, turning back to the cyro chambers and shutting the doors. 

“Roman...”  
Virgil began, but yelled as a tentacle shot out from the hole and wrapped around his ankle. He lost his footing and landed backwards, suddenly being dragged. Roman ran over, sword raised, and sliced at the appendage, cutting it off and grabbing Virgil’s arm, hoisting him up.  
“Are you alright?”  
“What the HELL was that?!”  
Virgil asked frantically, gripping his dagger tightly.

“Logan!”  
Roman exclaimed as he ran through the hole. Virgil did his best to keep up.  
“It’s heading towards the East Bay.”  
The Captain took off in that direction, chasing whatever that...thing...was down. Virgil, although shaken, was determined not to be left alone, and followed. 

They chased the creature through the everlasting corridors of the ship. Traces of emerald green blood could be seen splattered along the hallway.  
“D-did that thing kill the crew on this ship?”  
Virgil panted as they turned another corner.  
“Who cares?! It tried to take you, so it’s clearly hostile!”  
Roman yelled back, anger and adrenaline running through his veins. Patton spoke up.  
“It’s trapped. The only exit from the East Bay is the entrance. You might be able to corner it...”

The two approached the entrance and crouched down, listening to what sounded like distressed sounds. Virgil would have felt bad if it hadn’t attacked him moments before.  
Roman types a code in on the keypad on his arm, most likely changing his helmet’s vision to infra-red.  
“Stay here.”  
He said to Virgil, who opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off.  
“That’s an order, Virgil.”

The technician could only watch as his Captain walked through the open door and slowly approached the creature. They still couldn’t get a good look; it was shrouded in shadow, but it’s tentacle-like appendages were flailing about. Roman held his sword high, crouching down to keep a low profile. 

With a sudden screech, the alien lunged towards Roman, tentacles reaching out and grabbing his arms and leg. The Captain yelled, but managed to free his arm and cut off another appendage. The creature shrieked and backed away, only to spit what looked like acid towards Roman, who skilfully dodged and rolled to the side. Shooting an arm out towards the ceiling, the alien grabbed a pipe and pulled itself up, giving itself a height advantage. Roman ducked behind what looked like an old transport cell, and the creature snarled as it looked for him. 

Virgil fell silent, even though his lungs were screaming for air as he unwittingly held his breath in fear. Roman slowly made his way around boxes and transport units, trying to find a suitable place to wait until the creature came back down onto the the floor. It crawled across the ceiling, saliva dripping down onto the floor menacingly. 

Virgil hid behind the doorway, trying not to cry.  
‘Adults don’t cry, adults don’t get scared...’  
He whispered to himself repeatedly, breathing in the 4-7-8 pattern.  
“Virgil, just keep breathing. We’re going to get you out of there, alright?”  
Patton spoke in his ear, his voice trying to be reassuring, even though Virgil could hear the fear in it. 

A loud clash came from the room as Roman hit a discarded wrench with his foot. The alien turned towards him and snarled.  
“Roman!!”  
Virgil yelled, and immediately regretted this as the creature glared at him instead and began advancing. Virgil backed away from the door as fast as possible, and the creature finally stepped into the light, viciously growling at him. 

A great bulbous head with yellow slits for eyes sat above jagged, pointy teeth which dropped with acidic saliva and emitted a soul shaking noise. It’s tentacles seemed to protrude from its neck and stand on end. They wrapped themselves around Virgil’s ankles and threatened to pull him into its gaping jaw. The whole body seemed to twitch, sending ectoplasmic slime in all directions. Virgil seemed to have lost the ability to scream, paralysed in pure fear due to finally seeing this horrible hulk of a beast. 

“Shit, VIRGIL!”  
Roman yelled, running over.  
“I’ve got it!!”  
Logan suddenly appeared, as if from no where, wielding a taser. He thrust it towards the creatures chest, sending powerful jolts through its body, paralysing it. 

“Logan...thank god...”  
Virgil panted, the feeling returning to his body again. Logan knelt down next to him and checked his ankles for bruises. There were light ones, but nothing too drastic. Roman was standing over the creature, a face of thunder. Logan turned to him.

“It’s paralysed. We should take it back to PR1NCE for examination.”  
He pulled a small device out of his pocket which changed into a box. Roman and Logan lugged the creature inside, and the box hovered to make movement easier. Virgil stood after Logan said it was okay, and leaned against the wall for a moment, processing his feelings. It was a miracle he wasn’t having a panic attack now, but once the adrenaline died down it was likely he’d have one then.

Upon returning to the ship, Patton gave Virgil the biggest hug he’d probably ever received.  
“My god! Are you okay? Did it hurt you? Do you need to go to the lab? Can I get you a drink? I’ll make some food, you go rest-“  
“Dad, it’s fine.”  
Virgil reassured him. Patton gave him a quizzical look.  
“Dad..? You see me as a Dad?”

Virgil blushes a little. He hadn’t meant to say that.  
“Uh...k-kinda? You cook for us and stuff...”  
He mumbled, half out of embarrassment and half out of exhaustion.  
“Look, I don’t need any of that. Just some sleep...”  
He finished, and Patton nodded, throwing a quick side glance at their new passenger before taking a Virgil by the arm towards the elevator. 

Once they were inside, away from everything, Virgil’s world swayed as he realised how close he had been to death. Patton grabbed him protectively and they leaned against the wall.

“It’s alright, it’s alright...”  
Patton hushed, trying to keep Virgil held together. He could only hold tight, touch-deprived and scared, and begging fantastical creatures for his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I apologise for any spelling mistakes I may have missed, but I am sleep-deprived and cannot be bothered to read through this. I’ll do it eventually. So if there were any mistakes, do me a favour and ignore them so that my pride isn’t too bruised. Thanks.
> 
> Oh yeah, also there’s an alien now. Can’t wait for you all to see what I have planned with this guy. Should be great fun :D
> 
> Feel free to comment or whatever, I’ll read them when my mind decides it’s going to start working again. -_-


	4. A Heart to H3AR-T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton needs some time to himself to process his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re back!! I apologise this took a while longer, my only schedule for this fic is that I have to be at least two chapters ahead of what I post. 
> 
> This way I can be sure I don’t lose interest. And if my schedule is too messed up I still have crap to post. 
> 
> BTW!!! I’d like to credit PatentPending for the name ‘Patton Morales’. I saw them use this last name in their fic Powerless, and thought it was really creative, so do not give me credit for his last name, I did not come up with it.
> 
> ANYWAY. I’ll shut up. I rather like this chapter, since I’ve introduced another AI. The name is in the chapter title.
> 
> Enjoyyyy

Log Date: 734  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Patton  
~

Patton looked up as Logan entered Virgil’s room quietly.  
“I came to apply some gel to his ankles, but I shall wait until he’s awake.”  
He looked down at Virgil, who was curled up under the sheets, head resting on Patton’s lap. Patton had decided it would be best for Virgil to have a nap before dinner to calm down.  
“I feel bad...Virgil’s the youngest out of all of us, we shouldn’t have sent him...”  
Patton mumbled quietly, stroking Virgil’s head and running his fingers through his hair.  
“Perhaps. But he performed marvellously.”  
Logan sat down at the end of the bed.  
“That doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty though.”

Patton watched Virgil’s peaceful features as he entered a deep sleep. It was times like this where one could see Virgil at his calmest - perfectly carefree, without worry. It gave Patton a sense of relief. 

Logan spoke up.  
“You know, when he called you Dad I don’t think he was too far off the truth.”  
Patton looked up in confusion.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean that we’ve spent two years together on this ship. And you’ve cooked almost every meal, made sure our clothes are washed, ensured everyone sticks to my meticulously crafted sleeping schedule...”  
Logan counted his points on his fingers. 

“Frankly, you’re like a father to us all. And since Virgil is the youngest, it’s no surprise he sees you this way.”  
“But...I’m really only about a year older than him...”  
“So? What difference does that make? You’re still a perfectly adequate father figure.”  
Patton could only shrug, his face flush with small pride.  
“Well...I suppose I do call everyone ‘kiddo’ a lot, don’t I?”  
He chuckled, slowly lifting Virgil’s head and laying it on the pillow so he could stand. His legs were beginning to go numb anyway. 

Logan stood with him, and they left Virgil’s room, the door sliding shut quietly.  
“What did you do with...um, our guest?”  
Patton asked hesitantly as they made their way down the PR1NCE’s prestige halls. Logan opened his M-IND.  
“He’s currently being held in the lab. I had to create a temporary holding cell, since our ship wasn’t designed to have any prisoners.”  
Logan paused, shooting a look towards Patton.  
“No need to worry, however. I assure you it’s quite safe.”

They reached the door to Logan’s lab after a while. Patton believed they would enter, but was stopped.  
“Patton, are you sure you want to see this?”  
Logan asked, almost hesitantly. Patton heard what he believed to be a hint of worry.  
“Aw, don’t you worry doc! I’ll be fine.”  
Patton smiled happily, giving the taller man a happy smile. 

“Activation Code: Logan.”  
He spoke, and the door hissed as it slid open. Both Patton and Logan walked inside.

Logan’s table had been pushed to the side to leave a large open space in the centre of the lab. The creature was...awake, and thrashing about within what seemed to be a large box. The walls were thin, but made of the same energy that protruded from Fusion Rifles. Patton only watched as the creature tried several times to hit against its small prison, only to draw back its appendages with a hiss as they were severely burnt. 

Patton felt his heart wrench. He couldn’t help but feel sad for this creature, being the more emotional one of the group. It wasn’t this aliens fault that he’d been captured. It was a merely fight for survival...was it not?

“It’s scared...”  
Patton spoke quietly, reaching a hand out towards it, in an almost trance-like state. He was stopped by a hand gripping around his wrist.  
“Don’t touch the box, Patton! You’ll hurt yourself!”  
Logan yelled, pulling him away.  
“Sorry, Lo’...”  
Patton trailed off, looking at the creature once again.  
“I can’t help it...I do feel bad for him...”

Logan sighed heavily, and let go of Patton.  
“I know. But you have to understand that even if this creature is simply trying to survive, it will hurt us. It will hurt you.”

Logan stared into Patton’s soft, doe eyes for a while, before the man gave in, and nodded.  
“Yeah, I know. Sorry Logan...”  
He mumbled, running a hand through his hair in stress.  
“You’re probably right, I shouldn’t be in here. I’m going to start on some dinner.”

Logan gave a stiff nod, and turned to the creature.  
“Of course. I won’t be long.”

“Log Date, 734. We’ve made...a fascinating discovery.”  
Patton heard as the doors to the lab closed.  
He couldn’t help but take a deep breath, using the techniques he’d often told to Virgil. As much as he felt for this creature, seeing something like this...something of a phenomenon, was soul shaking. Aliens. Aliens existed, and the very thought was terrifying.

As Patton passed the control room, he could hear Roman telling Home Base of their finishings, and sending them video footage. Everyone seemed to be stunned. Even Roman wasn’t his usual chipper self, as he relayed the information with a grave tone. 

He opted to walk past this, and headed towards the sleeping quarters, opening the doors to his own room upon reaching them. He would make dinner later. For now, he needed a moment or two to review. 

“H3AR-T, open memory log for Patton.”  
He spoke to his AI as he entered the room. 

H3AR-T (Hearing And Recording Technology) was essentially Patton’s version of Logan’s M-IND; however,  
H3AR-T was adapted to record information about the crew’s mental well-being. Sometimes, it was helpful to speak one’s emotions aloud, without wishing to share these emotions with someone else. H3AR-T provided this opportunity by recording the conversation and storing it in a locked memory bank. Virgil used this piece of technology a lot. 

The small robot un-docked itself from its station and hovered towards Patton, bleeping. A small heart appeared on its monitor and flashed twice, creating a larger virtual holographic screen. There were many sound files under ‘Patton Morales’. 

“I suppose I just need a moment to think out loud.”  
Patton began, taking off the grey jumper around his shoulders and laying it on the bed.  
“It’s...Day 734, I believe, and our crew has recently discovered evidence that there is extra-terrestrial life. I’m fact, we’ve got the best evidence possible; we caught a live one...”

“Needless to say, I do feel bad. This creature wasn’t aware we’d somehow stumble across it. God knows how it came fo be in the Colonel’s ship in the first place, but I believe it has primal instincts just like the rest of life on Earth. It was merely trying to survive, as we all are in this universe.”

“Whether this creature...murdered...the crew onboard The Comet is a mystery - our belief is that the ship was caught in a solar flare and its basic functions shut down, ending their lives within a matter of days. A horrible death. I dread to think about it.”

“So supposedly the creature ended up in there somehow. My theory is the vents. Not that it matters now, the deed is done. We have...it...(goodness, we’ll have to come up with a name for it...) in a holding cell in Logan’s lab. He plans to analyse it, I’m sure. I hope it all works out okay.”

“Speaking of Logan...”  
When Patton said his name, a second file was opened on H3AR-T under the name ‘Logan Berry’. Patton had some notes pertaining to Logan’s mental well-being.

“Although he experiences vast emotional disassociation, I believe we’ve had a breakthrough. Although the situation was less that ideal, I watched Logan experience levels of shock, worry and grief today. Negative emotions indeed, but emotions nonetheless.”

“Roman,”  
The file changes to ‘Roman King’.  
“Is still keeping his true emotions hidden during drastic events. I believe it’s to keep the emotional well-being of everyone at bay, but I worry there’s a lot on his mind that he hasn’t spoken to anyone about. I may have to have a session with him later.”

“Aaaand Virgil.”  
A very large looking file, filled with notes and documents, opened under the name ‘Virgil Casey’.  
“We experienced another panic attack today, but I think he’s improving slightly. This one last 12 seconds less than the last one, and when placed under extreme circumstances he managed to keep his calm.”  
Patton paused thoughtfully.  
“Of course, he did have one when we were in the elevator after everything was over...so maybe not so much of a breakthrough as I thought.”

Patton looked up at the clock. It was around 4:00pm Earth time, so it would make sense to start preparing some kind of meal. 

“I’ll just wrap up then.”  
Patton said, and the files disappeared.  
“Make a note to check in on Roman, grab some more carrots from the rations downstairs, and...call Dad at some point too.”

H3AR-T bleeped happily, closing down what was needed and returning to its charging hub. Patton had a smaller version imbedded in his wristband which would send him notifications. 

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...”  
Patton mumbled the words to an old folk song quietly as he made his way down the hallways towards the kitchen. One of his favourite past times was listening to light songs from the past, unlike the futuristic ones created nowadays. Simple pleasures only required simple songs after all. 

It didn’t take too long to reach the kitchen, and after a while Patton was bustling around, singing his song and cooking some baked potatoes.  
“These are a few of my favourite-“  
“Patton?”  
“GAH!”  
He dropped the pan he was holding in fright and spun around, sighing heavily after seeing it was just Roman.

“Roman! Gosh, you gave me quite the fright! Don’t sneak up on me like that kiddo.”  
He told a perplexed Roman, heart racing after the fright.  
“Ah...are you quite alright Padre? You don’t normally scare that easily.”  
“Fine! I’m fine, of course I am. I’m your happy pappy Patton, as always.”  
He smiled sheepishly and wiped his hand in the apron his was wearing.  
“How did the meeting go..?”

Roman dramatically sighed and flopped into a chair.  
“It was long, needless to say. Felt like I was talking to the whole world. Which...I suppose I kinda am...”  
Roman trailed off.  
“It’s a big responsibility, I know. Perhaps I can help next time.”  
Patton said with a smile, sitting in a chair next to Roman and rubbing his shoulder.  
“I hope they didn’t give you a hard time for almost killing it.”

“No, nothing like that. I think they’re mostly relieved we’re alive.”  
He chuckled softly, but Roman’s eyes told a different story. Patton’s heart softened at the sight.  
“Do you need to talk? I’m always available remember.”  
He smiled encouragingly, but the Captain just shrugged.  
“I suppose. Maybe I can talk to H3AR-T or something...”  
“Of course. Any time you want, alright? It’s my job remember.”

Patton winked, and stood, turning back to the table top where some half-chopped salad lay.  
“I know you’re shaken, so I’ll let you pick the desert. Anything come to mind?”  
Patton asked, using a little trick he’d learnt back in psychology class.  
“Oh, um...fruit salad is fine.”  
Roman said in a dull voice. Patton frowned. On a scale of depressed to fantastic, Roman was around a four. He’d need some serious cheering up. A little confidence booster of sorts. 

“You know, when you saved Virgil earlier, I thought you were really cool.”  
Patton smiled when he saw Roman look up.  
“You...did?”  
“Totally! You’re so good with that sword! Where did you learn to use it so well?”  
“Oh, my twin brother and I used to do those virtual fencing classes.”  
“Well, they clearly payed off. You were awesome.”

Patton smiled as he saw Roman relax his shoulders, and a small smile appeared on his face.  
“I guess it was pretty awesome.”  
“Absolutely. You should teach me some day.”  
Patton turned to him and grinned, causing Roman to sit up.  
“I mean...sure! You’re the best gym buddy on this ship. It would be fun.”  
“It would be so much fun!”  
Patton smiled and giggled, causing Roman and smile genuinely back. 

“Alright then. Hey, maybe we should all do some training exercises. It would be a good team bonding kinda thing.”  
“Wowee, great idea Roman! That sounds brilliant!”

The two talked for a bit, until Roman requested that they ate some blueberry muffins for dessert. That was a good sign he was at a 7 now - a nice, stable, safe number. Patton ecstatically agreed, but realised they were out of blueberries, and that he’d have to head downstairs to the storage to grab some more. 

“Brown paper packages tied up with string...”  
Patton hummed as he stepped out the elevator and slipped past the lab towards the storage. 

“Interesting. I suppose that’s what one would call a song.”  
A cool voice echoed in Patton’s ears, and he stopped, turning to look at the window which faced Logan’s lab. Through the glass, he could see the alien, no longer thrashing around but staring at him with a steely glare.

Patton’s breath hitched in his throat as he stared back.

“You...you can talk?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this chapter. If anyone is still confused about anything,  
> H3AR-T is Patton’s AI who helps in his therapy sessions and records voice messages that can be replayed. 
> 
> Additionally, I decided on a few last names for the characters!
> 
> Logan Berry (bloody obvious why I chose that one, you are not a real fander if you don’t get this reference, jeez)
> 
> Patton Morales (I saw this real creative fic where someone had used this name, apologies for not crediting it...I can’t remember where I saw it ;-;)
> 
> Roman King (I was going to go with Roman Prince, but because I wanted to name the ship PR1NCE I went with King instead)
> 
> Virgil Casey (I read a post saying that Joan and Thomas were planning on naming Virgil Casey, but decided against it. So I decided to make it his last name)
> 
> Anyway, that ending was pretty good right? Back at it with the cliffhangers! God I love them.
> 
> Thanks for all your awesome comments on previous chapters, hope you all love this one just as much as them.


	5. Entity 45-X-7HD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan finds out some interesting traits about their ‘guest’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR SVS REDUX: POF!!!
> 
> You have been warned :3
> 
> Also I’d like to dedicate this chapter to LynHaundend 
> 
> You da best :3

Log Date: 734  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Logan.

“Patton, I would like your advice with a trivial matter.”  
Logan began as he walked into the kitchen, only to discover that it was empty. 

The stove was on, but the saucepan full of carrots was on the side. The knife was out, which was strange since Patton normally put it away. But the strangest thing..? A bowl of cake batter, left completely untouched.  
“My god, it’s like a murder scene.”  
Logan mumbled, looking around, and then shrugging.

“PR1NCE, where’s Patton?”  
Logan spoke upwards, and the cool voice of the computer replied by saying  
“Walking down Hallway 3B, Logan.”

Satisfied, Logan decided he’d meet Patton  
halfway and help him with any supplies he was most likely carrying. It was the only logical reason Patton would be missing, after all. Logan entered the lift, and listened as it pinged at each consecutive floor, until it reached the second to last one, where his lab was located as well as the door leading to the provisions room.

The doors slid open and Logan exited, promptly seeing Patton. Who was looking through the lab window. Gripping the sides of his suit. Tightly. 

“Patton?”  
Logan asked as he approached. The father-like figure jumped in what seemed like fright, and turned to him.  
“L-Logan! What are you doing down here?”  
“I was looking for you. Are you quite alright? You seem rather jittery.”  
Patton glanced through the window, and then back at Logan, with a smile on his face.  
“Jittery? Me? Don’t be ridiculous, I’m fine. I’m still happy pappy Patton!”  
Logan narrowed his gaze.  
“Is the...specimen making you feel unease? Because I assure you, you need not worry. That thing cannot harm us.”  
Patton flinched a little at the word ‘harm’, and then looked down.

“You...you promise it can’t get out...?”  
He mumbled so softly that Logan almost didn’t hear him.  
“Well, although I don’t normally partake in needless things such as ‘promises’....”  
Logan looked at Patton, who seemed to be acting different. Most unusual.  
“I give you my word that the specimen is quite safe in my lab. Beside, M-IND will tell me when there is a problem. Such as your  
H3AR-T does.”

Patton looked up and smiled a little, which made Logan smile just a bit too. If Patton was feeling better, then he was happy. 

“Now, why were you down here, Patton?”  
“Ah! I was going to get some blueberries for muffins...”  
Patton replied, looking down the hallway.  
“I’ll go grab them quick!”  
He rushed towards the storage door and slammed it abruptly shut.

Logan brought a hand up to his chin and pondered. Was Patton really worried about this creature getting loose? He had no cause for concern though, it was incapacitated.  
Logan looked through the window to confirm this. Sure enough, the creature seemed to be sleeping; still missing two appendages, still weak. It could have no influence of anyone. And if it could...Logan would find out eventually. He was a Doctor; he knew enough about anatomy to be able to make a basic deduction. This thing was no more than an untamed tiger. An animal. It isn’t an intellectual, like humans were. It isn’t sentient. It can’t hurt them. 

It can’t hurt them.

Logan looked up as Patton returned with a small basket full of blueberries.  
“Allow me to take that for you, Patton. Perhaps I may assist you with your cooking upstairs?”  
Logan asked politely, taking the basket from Patton’s (shaking) hands. The cook nodded.  
“Sure thing, Lo’! I’d love some company.”  
Patton replied, taking hold of Logan’s arm in a friendly way. Logan couldn’t help but notice the strong grip he had on it though. 

“Marvellous. You can conduct me in the ways of blueberry muffins.”  
Logan replied with a reassuring grin. He was just imagining it, he was certain.

~

Dinner went smoothly, with little arguments. Everyone was obviously trying their best to ensure the conversation steered away from talk about the specimen in the lab. Both Virgil and Roman had cheered up immensely and had essentially returned to their meaningless insatiable bickering as per usual, and Logan felt a small sense of peace, despite the daunting task he had to finish after the dinner. 

Once finished, everyone (bar Patton) stood to wash their plates. The other three insisted that since Patton always made the dinner they should wash up. Patton spent the time cleaning down the table though. Cleanliness was important to him after all. 

Roman left to write up a report for the day, since Logan (who usually did it) was occupied. Virgil went to check on a system error that had appeared in the ship’s gym. Patton said something about cleaning the storage room. So Logan decided now would be an ample time for some work.

One trip to the lab later, and Logan had was wearing a very white lab coat that he saved for special occasions. The specimen was sleeping still, which was good. Logan would add some more anaesthesia to keep it knocked out. He’d been using twice the normal dose that humans required, which seemed to be doing the job just fine. Logan placed his blaster on the table (which was there in a ‘just in case’ precaution) and applied more anaesthesia. 

“Hm. Good.”  
Logan murmured to himself, gazing down upon it.  
“M-IND, activate voice message.”  
He spoke, and a screen on the far left side of the wall flashed green, a sign that it was recording. 

“Day 734, Ship Time...9:00pm. Mission Trait-OR.”  
Logan began as he pulled on a pair of gloves.  
“I am about to make first contact with Entity 45-X-7HD, or for want of a simpler name....Janus.”

He took a scalpel from the table, cleaning it with a sanitiser.

“Truthfully, I’m rather drawn towards the name due to its historical significance. Janus was the Roman god of beginnings...and this discovery is certainly a new beginning for all of mankind. Thus, I have named the specimen such.”

Logan cut a piece of the creatures skin away and placed it into a petri dish for examination under a microscope. 

“Right now, I plan on analysing it’s cells, which should hopefully answer one or two of the questions I have at the moment.”

He placed the dish under the microscope and looked close, adjusting the zoom to get a good look.

“Structurally, they’re almost human. I believe each cell has a central nucleus, as well as ribosomes. It’s cell wall is noticeably thicker, which explains why it was merely knocked out from what would have been a lethal blast of the taser.”

He paused to note something down on a pad before resuming.  
“Particularly, there is a discolouration of the cells which constitutes a green...ah, tinge. Rather interesting...does it have a unique kind of melanin that causes it to turn green? How odd...”

Logan thought to himself for a moment, before taking a small pair of tweezers and...well, prodding the sample. He gasped as the green seemed to change through all the colours of the rainbow before returning to its slimy tinge.

“Sweet Einstein, it can change colour? Absolutely fascinating...it’s rather like shape-shifting. I’ll have to explore this in further detail. Now is not the time, unfortunately. I can only perform an initial survey at the moment. I’ll need to undertake a much more thorough examination tomorrow...”

Logan pushed his chair away from the microscope and slid towards the tentacle that Roman had cut off whilst on the Colonel ship. 

“From one look, I can tell it’s muscles are extremely strong. The tissue is abnormally tough, which makes it a wonder as to how it can move so swiftly.”

He picked up the severed appendage and pulled it slightly.  
“Almost like rubber, in my opinion. Stretchy. Versatile. Yet strong. Almost the ultimate fighting machine. I can only imagine what it’s parents are like.”

Logan chuckled a little, and then frowned.  
“Actually, there’s a point. Are these creatures born..? Or created by some other means of reproduction? Alas, that question will be much more difficult to answer, of course.”

Logan placed the appendage back into its sealed box and turned once more in his chair to face Janus. 

“I dare not release it from its chambers. Janus is intellectual to some extent, although prone to lashing out in an animalistic way. However, in my opinion, Janus’s most prominent feature’s are its yellow eyes.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“When awake, it’s eyes appear to glow with this ghostly presence. It’s rather interesting I must say. I wonder if it has infra red vision...or can detect heat sources through walls.”

With a sigh, Logan stood, pushing the chair back to its original place and removing his gloves.

“This is all mere speculation though. The appliances I have on hand aren’t nearly sufficient enough to perform tests that determine things like this. I can only analyse from a distance and send my findings to Home Base. Which is likely what I’ll be doing most of tomorrow.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and stood. 

“Okay, this is Logan Berry, Mission  
Trait-OR, signing off.”

Logan pressed a button on his wrist band and M-IND bleeped, indicating that recording had stopped. After clearing away a few thing, and shooting one more glance towards Janus, Logan walked out the doors of the lab. Instead of leaving, he turned to the manual lock.  
M-IND was built into almost the whole ship, so Logan could give orders whenever. 

“Right. I want 24-hour surveillance, Level Three locking system, and active alerts.”  
He spoke clearly, and M-IND bleeped. Just as Logan was about to leave, however, he heard a door open and close down the hallway as Patton came out of the storage room. 

“Patton? You’re up late, it’s almost 11:00.”  
Logan spoke up as Patton spotted him. The latter shrugged.  
“Well, I’m not all that sleepy...I just finished clearing a few things in the storage room.”  
Patton smiled and as he caught up they both walked towards the elevator.  
“I’ll probably stay up a while longer anyway...”  
“Really? It would be better for your health if you went to sleep now, you realise.”  
“Ah, I know...and your sleep schedule is brilliant, kiddo-  
“-don’t call me kiddo-”  
“-it’s just I feel really awake right now. I’d just be sitting in my bed staring at the ceiling...”

Logan frowned. Patton would benefit greater if he slept now...and yet a small pit of guilt in his stomach didn’t want Patton to lay awake alone.

“Why don’t you and I sit in the viewing bay until you’re tired? We could grab those comfy bean bags from your room...”  
Patton’s eyes lit up happily and he grinned like a Cheshire.  
“That’s sounds great, Lo’! I’ll go grab them and meet you there.”

Five minutes later, Logan and Patton were sitting in large beanbags next to each other, staring through the bay window as they had that very morning, gazing up at the beautiful galaxy they called their home away from home. There was something so serene and relaxing about gazing into nothingness.

“It really is a wonderful sight.”  
Patton sighed next to him, his glasses reflecting the galactic view in his brown eyes. Logan watched him with small wonder. He felt as if he could trace the freckles on Patton’s cheeks like constellations, they were so close. 

Snapping out of these thoughts, Logan turned towards the sky.  
“It’s a shame half those stars don’t exist. An infinitesimal amount are already dead. The light is just reaching us now...any one of them could blink out at any moment.”

Patton smiled softly. He loved listening to Logan’s space facts, even though he knew most of them already, having gone to the same university. 

Logan was glad of the silence they shared. There was almost a mutual agreement between the two to simply enjoy the sight without much talking. 

Until Patton broke this with his giggling.

“What is it?”  
Logan asked, glancing at him. Patton giggled softly and scratched his head.

“Um....infinitesimal means really small.”  
“No...? It means really big- OH.”

Logan blushed profusely, which set Patton off again.  
“Aw, Lo’! You’re so cute!”  
“I am not cute.”  
“But you are! And I can’t believe I corrected you on something. It’s nearly always the other way around.”  
“How come you knew what it meant?”

Patton shrugged.  
“I know big words.”  
He stuck his tongue out, and Logan rolled his eyes, pushing him off his beanbag. Patton’s eyes widened, and he grabbed a discarded pillow from the side, throwing it at Logan and hitting him squarely in the face. Logan, flabbergasted, fell of his beanbag too, and with a small grin, threw the pillow back at Patton, who stopped it with a pillow of his own. 

The Great Pillow War had begun, and it ended around 11:20, with Patton gasping for breath after laughing so much, and Logan half on a beanbag and half on the floor, also smiling. A real, broad smile. 

“That was great fun.”  
Patton said, flopping onto Logan’s beanbag. The latter sat up and nodded, sitting next to Patton.  
“Yes, it was...fun...”  
He replied, not all that used to enjoying himself in this way. Patton knew this was difficult, and squeezed Logan’s hand.

“Thank you for sharing. I know you struggle with conveying your emotions.”  
He replied softly. Logan didn’t say anything, and instead just gazed off into space again, regaining his composure. It wouldn’t be practical to display emotions. They only got in the way of logic. 

Neither the two of them spoke for a while. Patton out of respect, since he knew Logan was most likely going through things in his head, and Logan because he actually was going through things in his head. 

Logan, after about ten minutes of comfortable silence, eventually decided that he should thank Patton for staying up with him in some way, until he felt a presence on his shoulder. The younger man had fallen asleep, resting his head on Logan. A flush of emotions welded up inside Logan and he froze, trying not to move. Patton was so precious...he’d deserve the death sentence if he woke him up. 

With a soft chuckle, Logan readjusted himself so that he could lean back, and Patton’s head dropped onto his chest. Maybe it would be alright if he closed his eyes for a moment or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! We have a name! Doesn’t Janus seem familiar..?
> 
> Apologies in advance, Janus WILL be evil in this fic. I regret it a little, but I wanted a villain and I kinda cringe at implementing my own OC’s into my works. Because people don’t come for Original Characters, they come for the characters they know and love. 
> 
> So, yes, Janus/Deceit is evil. Sorry. If you don’t like that, feel free to stop reading. 
> 
> If you don’t care, feel free to carry on reading. 
> 
> (Or at least you can when the next chapter is out XD)


	6. Of Late Nights and Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman finds his evening disrupted by a visitor at his door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back! It’s been a while, I know. As I said, I normally try to be two chapters ahead before I post, but I’m going through some writers block, so I thought I’d just post now. 
> 
> This chapters shorter than my usual ones, but a lot less troublesome. I’m quite proud of it, actually. 
> 
> Chapter dedicated to bardic_inspiration. Thank you for all the love!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy:

Log Date 734  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Roman

Roman had just finished up with the report, and glanced at the time. 10:00pm. He should be heading to bed about now, according to Logan’s schedule. Besides, a wonderful Captain such as himself needed his beauty sleep. 

So, it didn’t take Roman long to get washed up and in his pajamas, ready to sleep. He was just brushing his hair when there was an (almost hesitant) knock at his door. 

“Come in.”  
Roman called, thinking it was Patton. He wasn’t expecting it to be Virgil though.  
“H-hey, Cap...”  
He spoke quietly, stepping in. Roman put his comb down and looked over.  
“Virgil? Is there a problem in the gym?”  
“No, no, I fixed that...I, uh, was wondering if we could talk?”

Roman raised an eyebrow and nodded.  
“Sure, come sit here.”  
He sat down on the bed and tapped the space next to him. Virgil tentatively walked in, nervously fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie. 

“Are you alright? You seem more....”  
Roman struggles to find a a word that didn’t seem too mean. Virgil chuckled quietly and supplied one.  
“Anxious?”  
“Sure, you seem a lot more anxious than usual.”

“Well, can you blame me? We were almost killed by an alien.”  
Virgil chuckled, but it was a touchy subject for the both of them.  
“But...we didn’t. Try to look at it from that perspective, alright?”  
“Yeah...you’re right...ah, but that’s why I came in here...”

Virgil turned to he could face Roman better.  
“I wanted to thank you for rescuing me earlier. I...kinda froze, and I know I wasn’t much help...”  
Roman raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

“You don’t have to thank me, I would have done it for anyone.”  
“Yeah, I just....didn’t think you liked me much..?”

“Didn’t....don’t....where did you get that idea?”  
“Well, we argue all the time, and you were kinda mean to me back in headquarters...”  
“I was?!”  
“Don’t you remember the nicknames...?”

Roman froze as he thought back. He supposed the names he used to call Virgil were rather mean. He never intended for Virgil to think he hated him though.  
“Jesus...Virgil, I’m sorry, I can’t believe I was that stupid.”  
“It’s alright...it’s in the past, right? Besides, you more than made up for it today...”  
He chuckled nervously, and then visibly regretted it. 

Roman rubbed Virgil’s shoulder, deciding not to say anything for now. And then an idea popped into his head. 

“You know, Patton asked me to teach him a bit of combat. Why don’t you join us? It might make you less nervous if you can defend yourself from...well, whatever’s out there.”

This idea seemed to do the trick, and Virgil smiled to himself.  
“I wouldn’t be very good.”  
“Don’t be dumb, of course you would.”  
“I’m way weaker than all of you though.”  
“Weakness has nothing to do with it. It’s all to with skill, and reflexes. And both of those things come with practice.”

Roman winked at him and flashed his cheesy smile.  
“Besides, you’ve totally already got both.”  
“Skill and reflexes..?”  
“Absolutely.”  
“I-I don’t really think you’re-“  
He was cut off as Roman threw a pillow at him, in which he quickly ducked to the side and it hit the wall.

“Roman, what the hell?!”  
“Hah, I knew it! Fast reflexes.”  
Roman grinned smugly and Virgil covered his face with his hoodie mittens as a blush grew.  
“Shut up, idiot...”  
“Oh come on, is that any way to talk to your Captain?”  
“Captain? But I’m the Captain.”

Virgil grinned as he swiftly stood, grabbed Roman’s red sash from the hook and slipped it on.  
“Now you take orders from me!”  
Roman gasped dramatically.  
“Oh, how could I be so easily defeated?! Captain Virgil, what is your bidding?”  
“You must wash the dishes for the rest of your life!”  
Virgil pointed at him conclusively, causing Roman to flop back on his bed with a defeated cry. 

The two of them erupted into laughter, and Roman had to admit that it felt amazing to see the usually quiet man be so happy. His heart swelled at the sight of a Virgil laughing heartily. 

The latter slipped the sash off his shoulder and hung it back up, before raising an eyebrow and lifting a part of it.  
“When did it get torn?”  
It was Roman’s turn to look surprised, and he glanced at where Virgil was pointing. Sure enough, there were three holes at the front that he had failed to notice. 

“Ah, it must have been in our little fight earlier on the other ship...I didn’t even realise.”  
Roman looked at it a little sadly. He’d earned that sash at the end of his four year training course, and it was his pride and joy. 

Virgil must have noticed the look, and with a thoughtful hum, he ran the silky fabric through his hands.  
“I think I can sew it back together again...”  
He mumbled, looking at the tears. Roman felt a small flicker of hope for his torn garment.  
“Really?”  
“Sure, it shouldn’t be too difficult..”

He took it off the hook once more and folded it carefully.  
“I didn’t know you could sew.”  
Roman said, sitting back down on the bed.  
“Well, duh.”  
Virgil replied with an eye roll.  
“I made this hoodie.”  
“You did?!”  
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s covered in patchwork, what did you think it was?”

Roman simply shrugged.  
“Aesthetic choice.”  
Virgil chuckled a little and sat down on the bed next to him.  
“Nah, it’s just an old hoodie that got torn a few times. Didn’t want to chuck it though. Besides, my mum taught me how to sew...waste not want not, right?”  
“Yeah...”

Roman thought for a moment, looking at Virgil’s hoodie.  
“So how come it got torn so much?”  
“Oh...you wouldn’t want to hear it...”  
He mumbled, shrugging.  
“Go on, you can tell me! I won’t say anything.”

Virgil bit his lip.  
“I just had some trouble in my first home. Kids can be mean, you know?”  
He shrugged, his grip on Roman’s sash tightening.  
“It got so bad I started being homeschooled instead. Which was difficult. It’s probably why I’m so unsociable actually...”

Virgil brightened up a little.  
“It’s not all that bad though. I really started getting into electronics, which is how I got to where I am now.”  
“On a flying hulk in the middle of space.”  
Roman said conclusively, and Virgil smiled.  
“Well I never really planned on the space bit, but yeah...”

Roman nodded in small realisation. Virgil was never meant to come on this mission, it was supposed to be the Head Technician, his mentor. Unfortunately, being diagnosed with cancer at the last moment meant he couldn’t spent six years in space...so Virgil was thrust into last minute training.

“Must have been difficult.”  
Roman mumbled, thinking about what he must have went through. Logan, Patton and himself had been preparing for almost a year - they’d been through months of training and therapy sessions to mentally prepare themselves, and had ample time to say their goodbyes to their families. Virgil would have had none of that.

The person in question just nodded in response.  
“It...was. But there’s no use dwelling on it, I suppose. I’m here now. I’ve survived two years somehow.”  
“We all have, somehow.”  
Roman grinned, and Virgil grinned back. 

“Yeah. Can’t believe we haven’t ripped each other’s faces off yet.”  
“Oh you couldn’t do that. Mine is too adorable.”  
Roman exclaimed, flourishing his hand. Virgil rolled his eyes.  
“Well, I don’t know about that. Patton is definitely more adorable than you.”  
“What?!”  
“Yeah, he’s got those adorable freckles.”  
“Just because he’s younger!”  
“Only by like two months! You two are practically the same age!”

They argued for a while longer, talking about logistics of freckles and age, until Roman saw Virgil throw a glance at the clock and his eyes widened. 11:30pm.

“Jesus, Logan might actually rip our faces off for staying up this late.”  
He mumbled, standing up quickly. Roman looked at the clock and raised an eyebrow.  
“Yikes...yeah, he gets terrifying when talking about the sleep schedule. We should both head to bed.”

Virgil stood, walking to the door and opening it. The hallway seemed eerily quiet compared to the laughter that had filled the room beforehand. Roman saw Virgil visibly tense, and decided that he’d be nice.  
“Hey, you know what? Let’s both go make a hot drink before bed. To make us sleepy, you know?”  
Roman said as he grabbed Virgil’s hand, directing them towards the elevator. Virgil looked as if he was about to protest, but instead mumbled a small ‘okay’ and went along with it. A quick trip upstairs and a kettle boiled, and the two of them were happily sipping on some hot chocolate.

“Patton would kill us if he knew we were doing this.”  
Virgil whispered, a smile growing on his face.  
“He’d have to get in line, Logan would kill us first.”  
Roman replied quietly, with an equally mischievous grin on his face. They walked down the hallway, socked feet muffling their footsteps, until Virgil stopped with a gasp. 

“Holy shit Roman, I don’t think either of them will find out.”  
Roman turned to see what he was looking at, and had to stifle a loud ‘AW!’

Through the open doors of the viewing bay, they could both see Logan and Patton cuddled up together on some bean bags. Logan has his arm around the younger, who had his head resting on the former’s chest, nuzzled under his chin. 

“That is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.”  
Roman spoke as quietly as possible. Virgil had other plans.  
“PR1NCE, I’m going to need about a hundred pictures taken and downloaded onto my computer for blackmail purposes.”  
“Pictures taken and downloaded, Virgil.”  
The ship replied, and the technician grinned evilly. Roman punched his arm lightly.  
“You are so bad!”  
He whispered, and the technician shrugged.  
“Shut up, I’m a genius. We’re never going to have to beg Patton for cookies again. He’ll be throwing them at us after this.”

Roman laughed, and then grabbed Virgil’s arm as Logan began to stir. They both ran down the hallway towards the elevator, laughing quietly and trying desperately not to spill their drinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Healthy dose of Prinxiety for you all. :3


	7. Problems Arise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One week later, and Virgil finds his day is not off to the best start. Little does he know it’s about to get a whole lot worse-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo! We’re back with Chapter Seven! Yay! 
> 
> Sorry it’s been a while, the chapter I’m writing at the moment is really tedious, and I’ve re-written it almost three times...so I decided to post this chapter earlier than planned. 
> 
> Here you go:

Log Date 742  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Virgil

_“Why are you so weird? Why don’t you stop being so weird.”  
“I-I’m not weird...”  
“You are weird! Idiot!”  
“Stop! You’re h-hurting me!”  
“Hah! What an loser, he can’t even talk properly.”_

_..._

_“Mommy I don’t want to go to school anymore...”  
“Darling, what happened to your hoodie?!”  
“They tore it...”  
“Oh, sweetie...we’ll buy you a new one...”  
“No! This is my favourite hoodie! You can’t!”_

_..._

_“Then you tie the knot here...and you’re done!”  
“That’s not too hard...”  
“Sewing is easy if you have patience. It’s like those little robots you make upstairs.”  
“I have patience?”  
“You have a lot of patience, sweetie...and one day, you’ll put it to good use.”  
“Okay mommy...” ___

__~_ _

__“Shit!”  
A zap of electricity caused Virgil to draw back his hands abruptly, tearing him from thoughts of his childhood to rub his hands together. He was currently upside down, on the ceiling, in the kitchen - there was a technical malfunction with the internal gravity field, causing everything to float about. _ _

__“Are you alright?”  
Patton asked, who was floating next to him, holding his tools so they wouldn’t float off. Virgil nodded, moving a few wires out the way and glancing in with his torch._ _

__“I can see what the problem is...one of the screws that keeps the miniature energy drive in place has come loose...”  
“Well that doesn’t sound so bad.”  
Patton replied with a small smile. Virgil shook his head.  
“It’s not. I just don’t want to disturb any of the wires around it too much...”  
He mumbled, putting his hands back in. _ _

__A monitor on the wall bleeped and a virtual screen popped up, Roman’s face filling it.  
“Hey, Pat, Virge, you guys almost done?”  
Patton placed his feet on the wall and pushed off, grabbing the kitchen island when he could reach it and pulling himself upright to look at Roman. _ _

__“Almost, I think.”  
“Great. The engine is almost powered up, and we’re preparing to hyper jump soon.”  
“You got it kiddo! We’ll be there soon.”  
Patton said, and Roman smiled, switching the screen off. Patton let go of the counter and allowed his body to simply float. _ _

__Virgil rolled his eyes, and stretched an arm in towards the screw, twisting it into place with a sonic screwdriver. There was a whir of life, and then a loud ‘oof!’ as Patton fell on the floor. Virgil felt his whole body being yanked downwards, but gripped onto the hatch. He pulled it shut, and allowed his feet to find the small indentations in the wall that acted as a ladder, before climbing down._ _

__Patton stood up, running his head.  
“You could have warned me, you know.”  
He said rather grumpily, but smiled anyway and ruffled the top of Virgil’s head.  
“Great job. Let’s head out.” _ _

__Virgil smiled as he followed Patton out of the kitchen. He felt a warm fuzzy feeling every time Patton complimented him. It was the same feeling he got when his parents praised him for doing something good._ _

__“You know, I’ll probably never understand technology very well.”  
Patton began as they walked towards the elevator. Virgil scoffed.  
“What do you mean? You work on a space ship for a living.”  
“Well, yes, but I don’t understand much of the technical side of it all. I’m just taught the controls, and that’s it.”  
He pressed a button on the elevator that said ‘Control’ and the doors whooshed shut. _ _

__“What about H3AR-T? You understand how that works.”  
“Yeah, but you had to explain to me about five times what to do with it!”  
Patton chuckled heartily as the doors opened and they stepped out onto the control deck. Roman and Logan were already there, with multiple screens opened at their hubs, indicating towards different aspects of the ship._ _

__“We’re back!”  
Patton called cheerily, as he walked to the left towards his station, and Virgil to the right._ _

__Roman smiled back cheerily.  
“Just in time! We’ve just finished up with the safety protocols.”  
Logan simply nodded in acknowledgement of their presence, his eyes scanning across five separate screens. They were planning on jumping a few light years further than usual, so of course he was checking and double checking everything. Virgil knew they had nothing to worry about when Logan was like this. Besides, if anything went wrong, he’d be able to fix it, being the technician and all. _ _

__Patton opened up a screen of his own.  
“There doesn’t seem to be any solar systems near where we’re jumping to. I can see multiple cosmic storms...but we should skip past all of them.”_ _

__Virgil watched as Roman nodded, and placed his palm onto a panel nearby. A chair rose out of the ground, and he sat in it, buckling in with the harnesses. Usually Roman preferred to stand, but jumping several light years would not be something his body would be able to stand through. Obviously._ _

__“Okay, T-minus 30 seconds, counting down. Virgil?”  
Virgil glanced at his monitor.  
“Doesn’t seem to be any problems.”  
“Logan?”  
“Power thrusters at full power.”  
“Patton?”  
“We have clear skies, Captain!”_ _

__“Okay, hold tight. Launching in three, two, one...”  
He placed his hand on a lever and pushed it forward. The whole ship lurched forwards as it travelled past hundreds of planets and millions of stars, moving at speeds so fast that it was naked to the visible eye. _ _

__“100 clicks remaining...”  
The computer chimed, and Virgil took a shaky breath. He didn’t particularly like hyper jumping. It would be over soon, he told himself...  
“80 clicks remaining...”_ _

__Virgil saw a small green flash out the corner of his eye. He glanced down at his monitor suspiciously.  
“60 clicks remaining...”  
The light turned red and Virgil frowned. One of the thrusters was losing power.  
“40 clicks remaining...”  
Virgil sat forward in fear. If they didn’t stop now, they’d tail spin out of orbit and could land god knows where.   
“20 clicks remaining...”  
“Shit!”  
Virgil swore, opening up a screen.  
“Roman, you need to stop-“  
“15 clicks remaining...”  
“Virgil? What’s the problem?”  
“We have to stop!”_ _

__“10 clicks remain-“  
Virgil manually shut down the thrusters on his own. It was dangerous, yes, but it was necessary. The consequences if he didn’t would be a lot worse.   
The ship stopped suddenly, lurching everyone forwards in their seats._ _

__“What happened?!”  
Logan yelled, turning to Virgil.  
“I don’t know! One of the thrusters shut down! I need to check on it...”  
He quickly unbuckled himself and began to run towards the elevator, before Patton yelled;  
“VIRGIL!”_ _

__The entire ship shook violently and Virgil landed on his side as he was thrown suddenly. Patton unbuckled himself and ran over to help him.  
“Patton! No!”  
Logan called, too late.  
“Meteor!”  
Roman yelled as another one hit the ship, causing its entire frame to shake. Patton joined Virgil on the floor as the ship trembled._ _

__“Patton, I thought we had clear skies!”  
“We were meant to skip the cosmic storms, but we didn’t!”  
“We’re stuck in a meteor belt. Shields to 100%.”  
Logan spoke quickly, putting up the ship’s defences as fast as possible. Virgil stood up._ _

__“Patton, come with me!”  
He grabbed the others arm, pulling him up, and they both ran towards the elevator, heading towards the monitor bay. The journey was difficult, as they slid across the floor each time a meteor hit the shield, but were able to steady themselves a lot better than before since shields were up. But Virgil knew they wouldn’t hold for too long._ _

__“Why did the thruster start losing power?”  
Patton asked as they ran along the halls. Virgil shook his head.  
“It could be a number of reasons, but most of them are unlikely. I always triple check everything before we go into a hyper jump. This is ridiculous.”  
They skidded to a holt at a particularly large door, protected by many locks. _ _

__“Activation Code: Virgil Casey!!”  
He yelled quickly, and the door hissed open. Virgil saw immediately what the problem was. One of the capsules that stored the energy for the power thrusters had a huge crack in it, and a blue liquid was dripping onto the floor. _ _

__“Don’t touch it! That stuff can severely burn you!”  
Virgil called over to Patton, who nodded, staring at it with wide eyes filled with fear. Virgil ran over to a monitor, mumbling to himself to steady his nerves._ _

__“Okay, okay...this was in your training...”  
He calmly told himself, opening up a particular screen.  
“Drain remaining fluid into Secondary thruster bay...retract broken capsule...manually override control...shut down thruster A-45, then power-up back up boosters 87, 23 and 90...”_ _

__Patton, meanwhile, was trying to save the liquid that had leaked from the capsule. They couldn’t afford to waste any of it. Sandbags dropped from the ceiling, dousing the floor and (hopefully) soaking the majority of it up._ _

__“Revert controls back into boosters, allow access to the Captain...”  
He pressed a button to activate comms.  
“Okay, we can’t hyperjump but I’ve switched our primary power to the backup boosters. You should be able to steer us out of the meteor belt, Roman.”_ _

__“You got it. You two find something to hold on to.”  
The ship’s engines wirred to life and Patton grabbed Virgil’s hand. They both ran out of the room, Virgil sealing the doors, and grabbed onto a handrail in the hallway as the ship began to move, swerving out the way of what Virgil imagined was multiple meteors. _ _

__A large bang echoed through the ship and Virgil tightened his grip on the handrail. Patton scooched over and took Virgil’s free hand with his.  
“I’m scared.”  
Virgil spoke quietly, looking up at Patton.  
“Well...I’m scared too. But, I trust Roman. And I know he’ll get us through this. Just, hold on to the rail so we don’t get hurt.”_ _

__Virgil nodded, and his eyes darted down the hallway, before widening in fear.  
“Uh, you know what? Not too worried about the handrail anymore...”  
He said, standing up as best as he could and dragging Patton up with him. Blue liquid was sleeping out from under the door. _ _

__“B-but the sandbags!”  
“Didn’t work, for some reason! Patton, it doesn’t matter, just run!”_ _

__They legged it down the hallway, stumbling and catching themselves against the walls. Virgil slapped his hand against the button, calling for the elevator. The doors slid open, and Patton jammed the close button as fast as possible. The doors slid shut and they both breathed a sigh of relief as the elevator rose upwards._ _

__Until it didn’t._ _

__The elevator shuddered to a halt, and Patton and Virgil looked at each other.  
“Why did it stop?”  
Virgil asked, and Patton chuckled nervously.  
“I was hoping you could give answer...?”  
“I...can’t?”  
“Oh.”  
“Yeah, oh.”_ _

__The ship grumbled again and the two of them decided to sit on the floor and wait it out.  
“God, what kind of shitty luck is this..?”  
Virgil mumbled with a low laugh. Patton shot him a ‘Dad Look’.  
“Language. But...I agree. We haven’t had the best luck today at all.”_ _

__Virgil counted the points off his fingers.  
“Gravity broke down in the kitchen. Had to skip breakfast because of it. Hyper jump failed, meaning we’re in a meteor shower. Power capsule is broken, highly dangerous liquid seeping out of its containment, aaaaaaand...stuck in an elevator.”_ _

__“Not to mention two very annoyed ship mates upstairs.”  
Patton said with a smile, which made Virgil laugh.  
“Man, they’re going to be pissed when they find out we’re stuck.”  
“Ohhhhh yeah...it’ll be worse than that time M-IND was broken for a week and Logan had to make do without him.”_ _

__“No, no, Patton, you’re forgetting the time Roman was electrocuted and his hair stood on end for the entire day.”  
“Hah! What about the time we were making smoothies and the juicer exploded!”  
“Oh my god, the kitchen smelt like insanely strong oranges for almost two weeks! We could NOT get the smell out.”_ _

__Both laughed at this as they remembered Logan’s exasperated face and Roman screaming about ruining a perfectly good hair day.  
“It’s...always us, isn’t it?”  
“What do you mean?”  
Virgil asked, as he realised Patton had stopped laughing.  
“Huh? Oh...it’s nothing, Virgil.”  
“It’s clearly not nothing, Patton - what’s the problem?”  
“I don’t have a problem, Virgil. I’m fine.”  
Patton spoke forcibly, running his fingers through his hair. _ _

__“Sorry, that was mean.”  
“It’s alright. I just...want you to know that I’m here. You always let me talk to you.”  
“Well, that’s because it’s my job, kiddo!”  
“Patton, it’s not just a job. You’d let me even if you were just a cook.”  
Virgil put his hand on top of Patton’s and squeezed it.  
“Thanks, Virge...but I’m okay. I promise. Guess it’s just been a long day.”_ _

__Virgil couldn’t help but agree. It had been a long day. He was amazed at how well he’d been coping so far, to be honest._ _

__They grew quiet, after a while, both happy sitting in each other’s presence. Virgil leant onto Patton’s shoulder, who didn’t mind, and let his mind wander. The elevator was a little hot, but was programmed to have air conditioning come on if it reached a certain temperature, so he wasn’t too worried. The air was hazy, and Patton was warm and comfy. Maybe he’d just drift off for a moment or two..._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm. Wonder what made those thrusters break...
> 
> Guess you’ll have to keep reading this story to find out, huh?
> 
> *wink wink*


	8. Compromised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton explores some complex feelings in the only way he knows how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh it’s been so long since I last posted. I’m so sorry, I just struggle to keep up with my schedule, and I constantly need to go back and re-edit my work, and then I’m not even happy with it. The chapter following this one had been re-written five times. 
> 
> ALSO, another huge tragedy, I realised that in this whole series Patton hasn’t made a single pun! ATROCITY! There’s a few in this chapter to make up for it :)

Log Date: 742  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Patton

_“You...you can talk?!”  
Patton exclaimed, almost falling over himself in fear.  
“Why, it’s not difficult. My species can evolve incredibly fast. After spending one day here, I can already gather a basic understanding of your language.”  
The alien almost seemed to sneer at Patton, who swallowed in fear.  
“I-I need to tell Logan...”  
He mumbled, pulling himself away from the wall he was leaning against.  
“Oh...I wouldn’t do that.”  
It hissed, with what looked like a smile growing on his face. Patton froze and turned back. _

_“W-What do you mean...?”  
“My species has one particular trait. We immediately know of all lies that someone has told. And you, human, have one particular lie that you’ve told everyone.”_

_Patton swallowed.  
“Y-you can’t know.”  
Janus chuckled.  
“Ah, but I do know. You have a secret. A very big secret. Something that was your fault. Something that can’t be changed.”  
“N-no...y-you’re lying, you don’t know...”  
Patton gripped the sides of his shirt tightly. He heard footsteps coming down the hallway. _

_“I do know. And if you don’t want anyone to find out, I suggest you keep your mouth...shut.” ___

__

__~_ _

__

__Patton awoke with a start as the elevator shuddered and groaned. A presence on his shoulder told him that Virgil was asleep next to him. He did his best to pull himself together, wiping his eyes of the tears that had pooled there. Patton pulled an arm around Virgil’s shoulders and gave him a hug. God, did Patton need a hug. He wanted to tell Logan so badly about the incident the other day. But...he couldn’t. He just couldn’t._ _

__No one could know._ _

__A loud bang from above them woke Virgil up, and Patton looked above as a hatch opened and Roman smiled down at them.  
“Good afternoon, comrades!”  
“Roman..?”  
Virgil mumbled sleepily as Patton pulled him up by the arm. Roman flashed a grin at him.  
“The one and only.”  
He climbed down into the small box with Patton and Virgil, so they could both see a harness attached around his waist. _ _

__“Logan’s at the top, ready to pull you both up. Virgil, you first.”  
Roman took off the harness and clipped it around Virgil, securing the belt tightly before pulling lightly on the rope. Virgil was slowly hoisted up the long elevator shaft, his eyes squeezed shut. _ _

__Roman turned to Patton.  
“Are you both alright?”  
“We’re fine, kiddo. Just...joking about the bad luck we both seemed to have had today.”  
He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. Roman gave him a knowing look.  
“Seriously, Patton, you look shaken. What’s up?”  
Patton felt his smile falter as he squeezed the sides of his suit.  
“Umm...maybe...could I have a hug? I know it’s dumb...”  
Roman didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Patton tightly, and the father figure melted into it, wrapping his own arms around and letting out a shuddered breath. _ _

__Roman let go as an unoccupied harness came down through the hatch, and Roman helped Patton into it, before pulling lightly on the rope. Patton felt his body being hoisted upwards by a pulley, and he travelled up the elevator shaft, reaching the next floor easily, where he was greeted by Logan._ _

__“Thanks, Loga-“  
Patton began before being pulled into a tight hug by the Doctor.  
“Lo’..? Are you alright?”  
“I should be asking you that, Patton. You and Virgil seem to have had a difficult day, after all. Besides...”_ _

__Logan hesitated and pulled away, which struck Patton as odd. Logan never hesitated.  
“Besides..?”  
Patton prompted him, and Logan shrugged.  
“I was...worried?”  
He phrased the statement like a question, as if he wasn’t too sure himself, and Patton suddenly felt his heart wrench for this adorable, wonderful man.  
“You were worried about us..?”_ _

__Logan nodded, scratching the back of his head. This time, Patton pulled the other man into a tight hug.  
“Thank you for sharing your feelings with me, Logan.”  
Patton said with a smile growing on his lips. He felt Logan stiffen at first, before ever so slightly leaning into the hug. Patton positivity beamed. _ _

__“So...are we gonna leave Roman in the elevator?”  
A voice from behind asked, as Virgil reminded them of his presence. Logan pulled away suddenly, adjusting his glasses.  
“Of course not.”  
He said monotonously, turning towards the shaft and lowering the cable and harness back down again. Patton stood, turning away from Logan to hide the growing blush on his face. The technician looked at him knowingly, with a small smile growing on his face. _ _

__Patton only rolled his eyes playfully and stood to the side whilst they waited for Roman to come back up to find out what they’d missed. Roman decided it would be better to explain in more detail in the control room, so the four of them headed there, using the elevator at the other end of the hall._ _

__The control room certainly gave some answers. The first thing Patton noticed was that they’d taken refuge on one of many moons that circulated a nearby planet. The meteors were far off in the distance, in orbit around the planet this moon was travelling around. From so far away, they seemed almost harmless - much unlike the lethal rocks hurling towards them only moments beforehand._ _

__“So I just about managed to touch us down on this moon before our Shields were put out completely.”  
Roman stated simply, gesturing to the virtual screen indicating the Shield’s energy percentage. It did not look good, needless to say. Virgil visibly grimaced, before talking._ _

__“Well, as bad as they look, it’s not the Shields I’m worried about. Patton and I identified what made our Hyper Jump fail.”  
Virgil opened a surveillance feed of what was currently occurring in the engine room. The broken power capsule was gone, since Virgil had replaced it with an unbroken one, however the highly flammable and dangerous blue liquid was on the floor, mostly smothered by the sandbags, yet some seeping out into the hallway._ _

__“Power capsule A somehow had a huge hole in it, causing Thruster A-45 to lose power. I managed to shut down the thrusters manually before we went into a tailspin and ended up in an unchartered part of the universe, yet it meant we were caught in a meteor shower. So I transferred the remaining power from Thrusters A-56 and A-89 to our back up boosters so you could steer the ship.”_ _

__He took a long breath, and then scratched his head.  
“It’s...a small mystery as to how the capsule broke in the first place...but my money is on just a simple pressure build up. Although, I checked the pressure three times before hand...maybe I just missed something...”_ _

__Roman seemingly soaked up all this information, humming in acknowledgement.  
“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. We can’t Hyper Jump without the primary thrusters working, so Virgil, you’ll have to find a way to fix them.”  
“Shouldn’t be too hard.”  
The technician replied with a shrug.  
“Right. Since we’re not going to be able to go anywhere, I think the best course of action will be to take refuge on this moon. Logan, I need you to find out what moon in particular we’re on. It’ll be easier to prepare for any and all future predicaments if we know our surroundings better.”  
“Of course, Captain.”  
Logan replied, adjusting his glasses. _ _

__Roman continued his talk.  
“Of course, we’ve always prepared for predicaments like this to happen, so we should be up and running fairly quickly. Nevertheless, we’ll need to make a thorough report to Home Base. Patton?”  
Patton smiled encouragingly.  
“You’ve got it, Boss!”  
Roman shot him a smile, and then turned to his station.  
“Meanwhile, I’m going to continue to monitor the course of our main objective, the Satellite, and calculate our next Hyper Jump, whenever that may be.”_ _

__Everyone turned to their stations, doing the jobs they were assigned. Patton opened up a small bubble around his station to block out any noise from the others._ _

__Patton picked up a small earpiece from a charging station and put it in his ear.  
“Testing...testing...This is the PR1NCE, identification code 589-621, do you read me, over?”  
Patton paused, and then tried again.  
“Repeat, this is PR1NCE, requesting connection, over.”  
The comms suddenly spurred to life and a voice on the other end crackled.  
“This is Home Base, we read you loud and clear, PR1NCE. How’s it going, Patton?”  
The cheery voice of Thomas Sanders, Head of the Space Operation, spoke back. Patton smiled. He and Thomas had always been great friends, despite the age difference of five years. _ _

__“Well, it could be going better if I’m honest. We were on schedule for our Hyper Jump, when the energy capsule for one of the thrusters, uh...exploded.”_ _

__There was a momentary pause before Thomas exclaimed -  
“Exploded?!”  
“Yes? So, um, now we’re stranded on a yet-to-be-identified moon which is circulating a yet-to-be-identified planet.”_ _

__“God, anything else I should know about?!”  
Thomas’ exasperated sigh was heavy, and Patton could almost picture him with his head in his hands in worry.  
“Well, other than the gravity breaking down this morning and me and Virgil being trapped in an elevator for a good part of the day...yeah, that’s all you should know.”_ _

__Thomas chuckled drily.  
“Wow, you guys have really been in the wars this morning, haven’t you?”  
Patton chuckled.  
“I’d say so. It’s almost worse than they day you were rejected by Dan Pooken back in Space Camp.”  
Thomas laughed heartily.  
“Don’t remind me! That was such a horrible day, Joan still teases me about it.”_ _

__The two friends laughed with each other, before Thomas spoke again.  
“Well, I’ll file a report back here, and have some people look into the capsule breaking. We may need to change their designs for future ships.”  
“You got it, Boss. I’ll send you everything you need to know.”  
“Thanks Patton. Oh! I had something important to tell you! It’s about....”_ _

__There was a loud noise of interference and Patton winced, pulling the earpiece out quickly until it stopped.  
“She....her....said...”  
Were the only words that came through. The line crackled, and Patton frowned.  
“Thomas? Do you read me?”  
...  
“Does anyone read me?”  
...  
A large ‘No Signal’ icon popped up on Patton’s dashboard. He tried to re-establish it, but nothing seemed to work. _ _

__Shutting down the bubble and removing the earpiece, Patton turned to Roman.  
“Cap? I got through to Home Base for a bit, but our signals gone.”_ _

__The Captain walked over to Patton, who showed him the ‘No Signal’ icon that was flashing up. With a frown, Roman shook his head.  
“Another thing we’ll have Virgil look into. Unfortunately, it’ll have to wait until after our thrusters are back online.”  
Patton nodded, before standing. _ _

__“I’ll go work on a late lunch then, since there isn’t much else I can do.”  
Roman simply shrugged, and nodded, walking back to his station and opening a fourth screen. Virgil was reviewing a piece of broken glass from the energy capsule, and Logan seemed to be skimming through what looked like a 20 screens at once, absorbing the information like a sponge. _ _

__Patton smiled. Logan was so smart...he didn’t let his emotions get in the way of facts. Of course, this was probably caused by emotional disassociation caused by trauma at a young age...but Patton didn’t care. Logan, was Logan. He was unique in his own special way. And, god, his cheek bones were so sharp...and the way he pushed his glasses up his nose when he was thinking...porcelain skin framed by what Patton assumed was such fluffy hair-!_ _

__He just couldn’t explain the feeling. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside._ _

__Patton stepped into the elevator (there were two, so this one wasn’t broken) and waited for the doors to open. He couldn’t remember when he’d started feeling these things for the Doctor. Logan had always seemed to be there for him, whenever he hurt himself, whenever he was sad, whenever he needed help, Logan was there to provide._ _

__He knew things Patton didn’t (except for the rare instance that Patton knew something over him, but the chances of that happening were...infinitesimal), and was happy to tell him so many fascinating facts about the wonderful universe they lived in. It was strangely comforting._ _

__Patton stepped out the elevator and walked towards the kitchen. Pizza for lunch sounded pretty good, especially since everyone missed breakfast due to the fiasco in the kitchen this morning. The cook took out ingredients from the fridge, deciding to use the spare dough from when he made bread the other day._ _

__Patton chuckled to himself.  
“I wonder, Logan... _’dough’ _you wanna go out with me?”  
A grin crept onto the mans lips. He knew his puns weren’t always the best, but if they made you smile, who cared?_ _ __

__

__

__He spread the dough out into a circle.  
“I mean, I _‘knead’ _you to know about how I feel.”  
Patton spoke aloud as the sauce was spread on. Time for toppings!_ _ __

__

__

__“Sorry if this sounds _‘cheesy’, _but you’ve melted my heart!”  
“ _‘Olive’ _you so much...”  
“...and I have so _‘mushroom’ _for you in my heart!”  
“I _‘pepper-only’ _have eyes for you.”  
“ _‘Crust’ _me, you’re my cutie _‘pie’! _”_ _ ____________

__

__

__Patton put the finished pizza into the oven, and then sat down in front of it, watching it bake forlornly.  
“No matter how you _‘slice’ _it, you’re awesome...and quite like this pizza, you can’t be _‘topped’ _...”_ _ ____

__

__

__Patton sighed heavily and drew his knees up to his chest.  
“You’ve really stolen a _‘pizza’ _my heart, Logan...”  
He mumbled to himself, thinking back to the morning when he woke up on Logan’s chest, the mans arms cradled around him protectively._ _ __

__

__

__In the end, the puns only succeeded in making Patton depressed._ _

__“That was the cutest and dumbest thing I’ve ever watched.”  
A voice from behind suddenly said, and Patton turned around in embarrassment as Roman sauntered in. His cheeks flushed.  
“R-Roman! How long were you standing there?!”  
“Long enough.”  
Virgil spoke as he also stepped into the room. Patton turned beetroot red.  
“Virgil!”  
“Patton.”  
The technician smirked, flopping down onto a stool. Roman was beaming. _ _

__“So...you like Logan.”  
The Captain spoke, his grin growing every second.  
Patton averted his gaze, but there was no use hiding it. They’d heard everything. _ _

__“Well- yes, maybe just a little bit.”  
Patton shrugged nonchalantly, trying to play his crush off like it was nothing. The other two saw straight through him.  
“Just a little bit, eh? That not what I see here.”_ _

__Virgil said as he tapped a button on his wristband, causing a very compromising picture of Patton and Logan snuggling together on a beanbag. Patton turned as red as the tomato sauce on the pizza.  
“Virgil Casey, when the heck did you take that?!”  
Patton lunged at Virgil, swiping at the holographic image, as if it would disappear. The technician giggled and dodge skilfully. _ _

__“You both like awfully happy there.”  
Roman spoke carefully, putting aside the jokes for now. Virgil put away the picture and nodded.  
“I really think he likes you back, Pat’.”  
Virgil added, putting a hand on the Cooks shoulder. _ _

__Patton shrugged it off.  
“Even if we do, it’s Logan! He’s known for having extreme emotional disassociation. He’d never like me back. It’s better to just keep quiet about it.”  
Virgil rolled his eyes. _ _

__“Patton, you’ve told me many times that hiding my emotions doesn’t always work out. You should talk to Logan.”  
“Hah! Easy for you to say...”  
Patton leans against the counter and folded his arms.  
“We’re spending another four years together on this ship. If I asked him out and he rejected me, I’d have to see him every day. It would be beyond awkward! Besides, aren’t there some kind of rules that prevent us from dating?”_ _

__Roman thought for a moment.  
“Not that I can think of.”  
He said with a small shrug, before Virgil interjected.  
“What if we found out how he feels about you?”  
Patton had to admit, it sounded very appealing. But he didn’t want to intrude on Logan’s life like that._ _

__“No...don’t. Leave the matter alone, okay?”  
Patton said as the timer on the oven bleeped. He turned to take the pizza out and put it on the counter, missing the knowing glance that Roman and Virgil shared. _ _

__“Could you both go lay the table?”  
Patton asked, cutting the pizza up into slices. Roman and Virgil left, talking in low voices with each other. Patton sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wanted to tell Logan, he really did. But it wouldn’t work out. He’d just have to continue to lie about his feelings. _ _

__“Now, now, Patton. You shouldn’t lie.”  
A cold voice whispered in his head. Patton shivered.  
“Get out of my head.”  
He spoke in a low voice, trying to keep his calm. Getting upset wouldn’t help.  
“You’re not even here, how are you talking to me still?”  
The cook asked out loud, looking about him as if the alien would leap down from the ceiling at him.  
“Well, I can’t tell you all my secrets, can I?”_ _

__Patton closed his eyes and covered his ears as a loud laugh rang throughout the ship._ _

__“That would ruin all the fun.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *jazz hands* Cliff hanger!


	9. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A training session leads to broken glasses, injured heads and spilt confessions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a much longer chapter than usual, but I hope you all like it, and I hope it’s not bad XD 
> 
> I had some problems with this Chapter, re-wrote it four times. There was a certain way I wanted to write things, and it just didn’t come out right each time. 
> 
> Anyway, I’ll stop. I hope you all enjoy :)

Log Date 742  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Logan.

Logan really had no idea as to what he’d signed up for. When Roman approached him after their delicious lunch, talking about a training session he was doing, he was skeptical. Logan was fairly apt with his blaster and felt he didn’t need any more practice with it. But a side glance at Patton, who had a very anxious face, told him that perhaps the Cook was feeling apprehension at the thought of fighting. 

So, Logan agreed to join them in their ‘training’.

_‘“It’ll be fun!” he said. “You should try some new things!” Hah, that’s the last time I let Roman talk me into something...’ _  
Logan thought as he fell to the ground and rolled away from Roman’s sword.__

____

____

_‘Fake sword’ _he reminded himself. This wasn’t real, it was a simulation. He and Roman were the two with the most experience fighting, and Patton and Virgil were watching from the side. Virgil had a small gleam in his eyes, Logan noted, implying that at the very least he was intrigued. Patton...was averting his gaze, spaced out apparently.__

____

____

Logan was pulled from his thoughts about Patton when there was a rap on his shoulder. Logan looked up to see Roman poking him with his sword.  
“Aaaand...you’re dead. Don’t lose focus in the middle of a battle, Logan!”  
The former offered his hand down to the latter, who took it and stood up.  
“My apologies, Roman. I directed my attention elsewhere for a brief moment.”

He glanced over at Patton, and Roman followed his gaze, before raising an eyebrow. The two shared a look, and Roman sheathed the wooden stick that had been serving a sword, walking over to the cook.

“Pat?”  
Patton looked up at Roman who was giving him a sympathetic look.  
“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to. I know fighting upsets you, and-“

“No!”  
Patton basically shouted, causing Roman to flinch. The cook took a sharp breath.  
“Ah, sorry...I want to be here! I swear I do, I’m just...distracted, that’s all.”

Patton smiled, albeit a little forcibly, and clapped his hands together.  
“Your fight was very good! Roman, you’re so strong! And Logan, I didn’t know you could move so fast.”

Logan stiffened at the compliment, but after seeing Patton smile genuinely, he relaxed and felt a blush creeping up to his ears.  
“Uh...thank you, Patton. You’re very kind.”

Roman smirked, nudging Virgil’s elbow, who gave a smile in return. Logan simply looked at them in confusion, luckily missing the blush on Patton’s face that was growing by the second. 

“Right! Well, let’s start with a bit of practice with our Fusion Rifles! I’d say we could all use it.”  
Roman said with a smile, drawing his Fusion Sword from its holster. Virgil removed his from his sleeve, and with a click of a button it came to life, a small purple dagger - it looked as if it could have been drawn from the jaws of a shark. 

“Ah, I’ve left mine in my room. Patton, shall I retrieve yours whilst I’m at our quarters?”  
Logan asked politely. The latter smiled softly.  
“Yes, please. Second drawer.”  
He told him, and Logan set off towards the bedrooms. 

After retrieving his Blaster from a shelf in his room, he walked over to Patton’s, opening the door and stepping inside. Logan had to admit, he liked being in Patton’s room, even though he’d only been in there a few times. The cook had opted to fill his room with many items that reminded him of his home. Originally, Patton had been brought up in a farm in some of the more remote areas of the country. His fascination in stars, and the need to help others lead to him having a career as therapist at Home Headquarters. Having an aptitude for cooking marvellous meals was really just lucky, if anything. 

Recipes of different cookies and cakes camouflaged the walls, each with names that seemed to be puns (Logan rolled his eyes), along with photos of Patton’s family. A copy of his medical certificate also hung there - at the bottom was a footnote, (most likely from his teacher), that read _‘Your smile could light up even the darkest parts of the universe. Never lose it.’_

____

____

Logan couldn’t help but agree with the quote...Patton seemed to be so cheerful, he could lift the mood of everyone with ease. 

Logan opened Patton’s chest of drawers to find his Fusion Blaster - it was the most complex of all of them, designed into the form of a crossbow. Patton was very against using it though...Logan remembers the day they each received their Fusion Rifles, how Patton had dared to argue with the Colonel. He was quite distraught. 

Logan shut the draw, slipping his own Blaster into a holster strapped to his leg to better hold Patton’s. As he looked up, he noticed a picture frame on top of the chest. A younger Patton was standing next to a beautiful woman with golden hair, rich with curls that cascaded down her shoulders. Her face sparkled with freckles, and her eyes reflected the joy and wisdom that lay beneath. 

_‘Must be his mother.’ _  
Logan pondered thoughtfully. Patton never mentioned his Mother often though. He always called his Father, once every two weeks or so, but...he never mentioned his mother.__

____

____

Logan stepped backwards as he thought about it, and swore as he tripped over a stray shoe, letting go of the crossbow as he braced himself before hitting the ground. The crossbow hit on the floor, releasing a beam of energy that collided with none other than H3AR-T. 

The machine sparked, and Logan bit his lip, hoping it wasn’t too broken. There was what sounded like a record scratch, and then Patton’s voice filled the room. 

_“I-I....I can’t do this...” _  
A shaky voice sobbed quietly.  
“All these memories, I’ve pushed them so far down...and now they’re threatening to come back up; I feel like I’m being swallowed.”  
There was a choked cry, and a few sniffles, before he started talking again.  
“Ma’...I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry...(get OUT of my head!)” __

_______ _ _ _

_____ _

_____ _

_____ _

The crying stopped, and Logan listened to Patton’s breathing.  
_“Four...seven...eight...” _  
He mumbled to himself repeatedly, pausing every so often to do the exercise.__

____

____

_“Okay, Patton. You can do this, you can stay strong. For them. Stay strong for him.” _  
The recording was cut, and H3AR-T bleeped, shutting down and going back to sleep.__

____

____

Logan felt a drop on his hand, and he looked down to see a tear. He touched his cheek in surprise and found more there. When had he started crying? 

Logan grabbed the crossbow and left the room, feeling as if he’d invaded Patton’s privacy enough, and leant against the door after it had shut. 

Patton was definitely going through a lot, and as mental health consultant, had believed that he had to keep his feelings bottled up. But Logan knew, through his own experiences, that that wasn’t healthy. Especially for someone like Patton, who seemed to have so many...well, emotions. 

Equally, Logan had many questions. What memories was Patton trying to forget? Why was he apologising to his mother? What did he mean by, ‘Get out of my head?’ And who was the ‘him’ that Patton felt he had to stay strong for? 

Logan was quite baffled, but decided that the only way to receive conclusive answers would be to confront the man himself. So, Logan head back to the gym with the intent of talking with Patton. 

Logan arrived back to see Virgil viciously attacking a dummy, and Roman and Patton backed into a corner as they watched him, their faces a mix of amusement and terror. 

“I’ve returned.”  
Logan announced, handing Patton his crossbow as he did so. The younger looked at it in his hands, and then looked over at Roman.  
“I don’t think I can do this.”  
He mumbled, and Roman pulled him into a hug.  
“I know you’re nervous. But we don’t know what could be out there...not anymore. This is for our safety. And I know you care about our safety, don’t you, Padre?”

Patton nodded, and sighed, pulling away.  
“Alright. I’ll try.”  
He gave a smile, and Logan breathed out internally. 

Roman clapped his hands together.  
“We don’t have to do much, Patton. How about you and Logan do some target practice whilst I spar with Virgil?” 

Logan gave Patton as good a reassuring smile as he could, which somehow seemed to work as the father figure relaxed. 

The time ticked by. Logan was impressed by Patton’s aim and precision. Despite his hate towards violence, Patton was an apt soldier with the crossbow. Logan wasn’t too bad himself, and enjoyed messing around with the different settings on his blaster - they all were forced to stop, however, when he placed it on the highest setting and was thrown backwards by the blast, taking out Patton with him who was standing behind. 

Virgil and Roman ran over.  
“Are you alright?!”  
The Captain asked frantically, whilst Virgil ecstatically looked at the settings on Logan’s blaster, which had fallen to the side.  
“That was awesome!”  
The technician exclaimed gleefully.

Logan groaned, rubbing his head, and climbed off of Patton, who was face down on the floor. Logan realised with small horror as Patton sat up that his glasses had smashed. 

“Goodness, That was quite a tumble...”  
Patton said with small optimism, taking off his glasses and frowning.  
“Patton, my sincerest apologies. I did not check the safety on my weapon.”  
Logan winced as he touched the back of his head. There was a growing bump there, and it hurt more by the second. 

Patton stood up and offered a hand down to Logan, who took it, standing up.  
“To the infirmary for you!”  
Patton chuckled, eyes squinting to try and see. Logan sighed and took the Cook by the hand. 

“I shall see to it that you get a fresh pair of glasses, Patton.”  
He said, leading the almost blind man towards the door. Patton swung the strap of his crossbow over his shoulder, and loosely held the shattered glasses in one hand, allowing himself to be guided by Logan. 

Logan half expected Patton to start talking about the training session they’d had, or what he was planning for dinner, or even start spouting random puns about his glasses breaking...yet surprisingly, the man was quiet for most the walk. This struck Logan as odd, so when the made it to the elevator, he took a good look at his companion.

Patton looked a little odd without his glasses, since he wore them so often, but this didn’t bother Logan much. His eyes seemed more blue than diamonds buried in rocks, and his constellation of freckles were more visible than usual, speckling his honey dusted cheeks. And yet, Patton avoided eye contact, and seemed to be biting his lip. Logan recognised this as a symptom of stress or anxiety. 

His mind flicked back to the tape recording he’d accidentally listened to. How Patton had apologised profusely over and over to himself. 

And so, Logan made a logical conclusion. There was something wrong with Patton. 

No...there was something wrong with his friend. 

The doors opened and Logan pulled on his friends hand, and they walked down the hall. As Logan neared his lab he felt the grip Patton had tighten. Yet...it relaxed when Logan went straight past and into the food storage, flicking the light on.

“Logan...? Why are we in the storage room?”  
Logan lightly pushed Patton down so he sat on a crate.  
“I understand that the specimen Janus makes you nervous. I’ve decided that this is an adequate place for me to carry out my medical procedures.”  
Logan stated. He quickly went to his lab (where the creature was sleeping in its containment, he noted) and grabbed a first aid kit, along with a pair of glasses in Patton’s prescription, before returning back to the storage room.

“Right. Are you experiencing any pain in your eyes, Patton?”  
Logan asked as he put on his gloves.  
Patton shook his head.  
“No...should I be?”  
“Absolutely not. I am simply checking to see if any glass penetrated your eyes. I will just check.”  
Logan took out his retinoscope and looked into Patton’s eyes, feeling himself being swallowed by the ocean blue. Once deciding that Patton’s eyes were safe, he handed him the new pair of glasses.  
“How are they?”  
“Fine...the, ah, left arm is a little tight though...”

Logan leaned in and adjusted the arm, feeling the heat of Patton’s cheeks radiating. He tried to keep his own cheeks from matching Patton’s.

“There. Comfy?”  
Logan asked, drawing back. Patton smiled and nodded in response, and Logan saw his bitten and torn lip.  
“Thanks Lo’, you’re so smart.”  
Patton grinned happily as Logan took out as ice pack and applied it to his own head, right on where the bump was rebelliously growing. 

“Does it hurt?”  
Patton asked delicately as Logan winced.  
“Not much. I imagine I will just get a headache later. Nothing serious, I believe.”  
“That’s good then. ‘Eye’ wouldn’t be happy if you were badly hurt!”  
Patton winked comically, and Logan groaned.  
“That was not one of your best, Patton.”  
“‘Eye’ don’t know what you’re talking about-“  
“You can’t use the same joke twice!”  
“Are ‘view’ going deaf, Logan?”

“Gah!!”  
Logan sighed, exasperated, and Patton erupted in giggles.  
“Not my best, I’ll admit.”  
He spoke once the giggles died down.  
“But they served a purpose!”  
“And that purpose was?”  
Logan asked with an eye roll.

Patton pokes Logan’s shoulder.  
“To make you smile!”  
Logan felt his cheeks heat up, and he corrected his mouth into that of a frown.  
“I don’t smile.”  
“Hm...okay...”  
Patton gave him a knowing glance, and then looked up at the ceiling. 

Logan’s eyes wandered up and down the other mans body, noting his tense shoulders and slightly clenched hands. 

“Patton?”  
“Hm?”  
“I want to ask you something.”  
“Oh? Go ahead, Lo’!”

“Are you alright?”

Patton froze, and looked at his feet.  
“Yes, I’m fine! I already told you my eyes don’t hurt-“  
“Patton. That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”  
Logan put a hand under Patton’s chin and lifted it till they made eye contact.  
“You...are always there, when I want to share my-“  
Logan shuddered.  
“-feelings.”  
He mumbled quietly, before giving Patton as much a sympathetic look he could muster.  
“I want to be there to listen to your feelings. Even if I may not understand them well.”

Patton visibly untensed a little, and Logan smiled ever so slightly.  
“You can’t spend six years on a ship keeping your emotions to yourself. Not when we tell you all of our worries. It’s too much for once person to handle, Patton.”

Logan’s eyes widened as he saw tears building up within Pattons.  
“I...Logan, I want to ask you something...”  
The cook asked shakily. Logan nodded, moving to sit next to Patton.

“You may ask me anything. I will try my best to assist you.”

The other man’s shoulders shook nervously.  
“What...what would you do if...if...”

Logan waited patiently for Patton to pull himself together enough to ask the question. He didn’t expect the question to be yelled at him though, as Patton blurted out:

“What would you do if you were compromised?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Patton. I apologise to you in advance.


	10. His Worst Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when it seemed nothing else could go wrong...everything did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aahhhh! I’m so excited about this chapter! And the one following it! So much is about to happen, and I can’t wait!
> 
> This is *slightly* shorter than usual, only slightly, but it still should be interesting. 
> 
> Enjoy! ;)

Roman sighed as he watched their two glasses-wearing crew members walking off to the med bay, and turned to Virgil, who was changing the settings on Logan’s blaster.  
“We’ll call it a day then, since those two are out for the count.”  
Roman spoke with a shrug, and Virgil looked up.  
“Sure thing. I’ll probably go see what I can do with the thrusters.”  
“Want any help?”  
Roman asked, and Virgil looked at him with a little surprise.  
“Uh, sure. Oh, but I want to stop by my room first.”

Roman nodded in response, and they both set off in the general direction of their bedroom quarters.

“You know, you’re pretty good with the dagger.”  
Roman mused as they walked along, starting a small conversation. Virgil scratched his head.  
“I got in with some bad people once...they taught me how to use one, but only the basics.”  
He shrunk into his hoodie a little.  
“I don’t...do any of that anymore. It’s a bad spot in my past. A dumb teenage choice.”

Roman smiled endearingly.  
“I don’t judge people on their past, Virgil. Besides, mine isn’t as flamboyant as my life is now. Although, it was certainly...entertaining, I suppose is a good word.”

They walked into Virgil’s room, and the technician picked up his tool belt, before they shut the door and headed towards the basement.  
“What do you mean? If, uh, you don’t mind asking...”  
Virgil mumbled, looking up at Roman. The Captain shrugged. 

“Oh, I don’t mind much...my brother and I grew up together in the slums. My twin brother.”  
“You have a twin?!”  
Virgil asked in surprise. He’d never even heard Roman talk about his family before, so couldn’t help being a little surprised. 

Roman chuckled.  
“I do, but he’s very unlike me. Much more...eccentric.”

“Well, growing up wasn’t so bad. Our living situation was dire, since it was at the end of the Second Energy War that we moved to the slums. I looked after Remus, and he looked after me...our parents died when we were young, so we lived with our Uncle. He was such a great man...making sure we both had enough money to go to the best schools. That’s when Remus and I...”  
Roman pauses, his eyes tracing the wall as if it were showing him distant memories.

“...well, we fell apart. Split. I haven’t spoken to him for so long now.”

Roman thought back to when he started college. Both brothers had been so excited, but their different job aspirations caused them to go to separate schools. 

_“You never call me anymore, you know? We used to be so close, Roman. Don’t you want to be like that again, brother?” ___

__

__...  
“Roman....Roman? Are you alright?”  
Roman jumped and looked down at Virgil, who had a concerned expression on his face.  
“You trailed off.”  
“I did? Ah, sorry...just remembering things.”  
Roman chuckled, brushing away the feelings of the past as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out in the ‘basement’. _ _

__It wasn’t much of a basement, to be honest. More like a winding maze with pipes and cogs lining the walls, a maze that only Virgil and Logan knew how to navigate. Quite like the engine of a steam train; only, minus the steam and oily parts - these were theoretically replaced with sleek engineering and modern designs, (it was 2046, after all.)_ _

__The lights switched on automatically as they walked down the hallway, illuminating their path with a soft glow.  
“What does your brother do back on Earth?”  
Virgil asked curiously.  
“He’s a Pathologist. They dissect bodies to find the cause of death in forensics.”  
“Wow. That’s quite different from the Captain of a Space Ship.”_ _

__Roman chuckled.  
“Yeah, we both chose very different career paths...but we’re both happy. Apart...”  
Roman trailed off, thinking back to his brother. God, he missed him.  
_‘I need to talk to him when this is all over. I miss him so much...’ _  
Roman thought to himself forlornly. Although they had their differences, Roman had always been upset by the rift that had been created between his brother and himself. After two years alone on this ship...he felt rather homesick. Especially after nearly being killed by a creepy alien.___ _

____Virgil put his hand gently on his shoulder, and Roman smiled at the gesture.  
“Thanks...”  
“No problem. I’m not as helpful as Patton, but...you know, if you want to talk?”  
“Yeah. Yeah that’d be nice.”_ _ _ _

____They walked in silence for a bit, Roman following Virgil through the winding hallways. They had to go the long way around, since the elevator closed to the thruster room was broken._ _ _ _

____“What was your family like?”  
Roman asked curiously.  
“My family?”  
“Yeah, I don’t think I’d ever asked.”  
Virgil shrugged.  
“My mum taught me how to sew, my dad taught me electronics. I didn’t grow up with any siblings, and since I was home schooled for most my childhood, I was just kinda...alone.”_ _ _ _

____Roman chuckled.  
“Well, better alone then having pranks played on yourself all the time. Remus and I were in a constant battle with each other to see who could pull off ‘The Greatest Prank’.”  
“Who won?”  
“Neither of us. My Uncle got so annoyed he said if we did anymore he’d throw us out.”_ _ _ _

____Virgil laughed, and Roman felt his cheeks heat up from the melodious sound his emo companion made. It was like...bluebells ringing in the winter dew. Warmth and toasty fires in a cold cabin. Virgil had the capacity to be mean, but...moments like this showed a kinder side._ _ _ _

____Roman grinned happily, thinking about how warm this feeling that blossomed in his chest made him. When meeting his tenacious technician, he hadn’t thought much of the small flame that flickered to life in his heart. But upon spending more and more time together, Roman realised that it wasn’t just a candle - it was the roaring flame of love._ _ _ _

____And God, did Roman want to shower Virgil with his meteors of love - let them rain down on his dark, eye-shadowed heart and show him a world of constant safety and companionship. To light up the darkness around him with a torch of clarity that guided the way towards a relationship._ _ _ _

____And then a light flickered on. Specifically, the torch lights embedded in the shoulders of their suits - the lights that had previously been showing the way had gone out. A complete power cut._ _ _ _

____Roman looked at Virgil, who looked back at him.  
“What happened?”  
Roman asked, and Virgil shook his head in disbelief.  
“I don’t know...but I don’t like it. Somethings up.”  
Roman looked down the hallway. He couldn’t even see the end of it, despite the powerful beams that emanated from the torches on their shoulders. _ _ _ _

____“Okay. Let’s check the generator. We could be freaking out over nothing.”  
Roman said as calmly as possible, watching as Virgil became more distressed. The latter nodded, allowing Roman to put a hand on his shoulder, and then led the Captain towards the generator. _ _ _ _

____Roman slowly dropped his hand towards Virgil’s, and squeezed it reassuringly. Virgil seemed to be gripping his hand like it was a life line._ _ _ _

____Down and around the twisting, turning hallways they went, walking through the darkness with no idea who or what they could walk into. Roman’s only guide was Virgil’s hand, and Virgil’s only guide was his memory._ _ _ _

____A crackle emanated down the hallway, then silence. Virgil’s brow furrowed.  
“It’s too quiet...there should be a humming sound of the generator.”_ _ _ _

____They entered the room, and there was a snap of electricity as they approached the generator; the two of them backed swiftly away. Virgil fiddled with his tool belt._ _ _ _

____“What are you doing?!”  
Roman asked as he took out a screwdriver.  
“I’m going to turn it back on, obviously.”  
Virgil said with a small eye roll. Roman shook his head in disbelief.  
“You can’t go near that thing, Virgil. I’m no expert, but that’s certainly dangerous. It’s sparking with electricity.”  
“Roman, it’ll be fine. I’ll be careful.”_ _ _ _

____Virgil approached it cautiously, and knelt down on the floor, opening a small hatch and fiddling with some wires. He winced a few times, but succeeded in not hurting himself too badly._ _ _ _

____Roman grimaced. This was all getting far too strange. First the thrusters explode,  
then the radio cuts out, and now the generator had broken down. Surely these weren’t all coincidences...? There had to be someone guilty. _ _ _ _

____But it couldn’t be someone on this ship, Roman thought. He’d trust every one of his fellow crew members with his life. Patton was too innocent, Logan was too loyal, and Virgil..._ _ _ _

____Virgil was new. Roman had gone to University with him, yet never interacted much - besides the occasional nickname. In fact, they’d only interacted the month before the Mission, since that’s when Virgil was implemented into the team. And yet...despite all of that, Roman knew that it couldn’t be Virgil. A feeling in his heart. Call him biased, but despite Roman’s crush, he knew Virgil couldn’t be a traitor._ _ _ _

____It was just Captain’s Instinct._ _ _ _

____So...who was the saboteur? Who was the mastermind behind these misconducts? Who-_ _ _ _

____“...or what.”  
Roman mumbled, and then it hit him like a brick. But...no, Logan had it under lock and key, there’s no way it could escape- _ _ _ _

____Roman’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a crackle of electricity, followed by a yell of pain. Virgil dropped down, unconscious, as the generator sparked uncontrollably. Swearing profusely, Roman pulled Virgil away from the danger._ _ _ _

____“Shit, shit! You idiot, Virgil...”  
Roman swore under his breath, cradling the technician in his arms. He looked at the generator, still sparking, and out the corner of his eye...a shadow darted out from behind. Roman almost missed it. He looked up, just in time, to see a tentacle slither through the vents above. _ _ _ _

____Roman’s heart dropped like a stone falling into a gravity pit. He blinked, once, twice, wishing to believe he hadn’t seen it._ _ _ _

_____Fumbling, the Captain used his communicator._  
“Logan! Jesus Christ, Logan, please come in...I need help!”  
...  
“Patton! Logan! Can you guys read me?”  
..._ _

____Exasperated, Roman shut down the communicator, and stood up, taking Virgil in his arms protectively. He’d have to figure out this maze of a basement on his own._ _ _ _

____Stumbling down corridors, Roman took a left, a right, another left, left, right, left, right...until he couldn’t even remember where he’d begun. There were so many rooms, so much technology on this ship, and it was all kept raw down here...so many rooms, multitudes of hallways._ _ _ _

____To Roman, it felt like hours. All these thoughts spinning in his head - he tried to concentrate on Virgil’s slow breathing, telling himself over and over that he was not dead. That they were all still alive...God forbid he was left alone on this ship. That would be hell itself._ _ _ _

____Genuinely, Roman almost cried when he saw the elevator. They ran on an isolated power source, which was a small miracle, and Roman found himself running towards Logan’s lab as fast as possible. He saw the beams from Patton and Logan’s suits outside the storage room, the lights seemingly beckoning him forwards to safety._ _ _ _

____It was only in passing the lab, and looking through the window, that he realised his worse fear._ _ _ _

____Janus was gone._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuun. 
> 
> Haha, let’s be real, you all probably saw this coming. Doesn’t stop it from happening though. ;)
> 
> Also, sorry for areas where a character is thinking and it isn’t in italics. I’m having some real struggles with the italics, and now it’s 2am and I’m losing the will to live. I managed to put it for the flashbacks though, so you should be able to differentiate there.


	11. Unfamiliar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whilst drifting in and out of consciousness, Virgil experiences buried memories of the past, and how he found himself in this ridiculous situation in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who’s back! 
> 
> Apologies for the late upload. I started a new job recently and I haven’t found the energy to write. But I’m quite happy with this chapter, overall.
> 
> Alsooooo, I perfected my usage of italics after about an hour of messing around with them, so my work looks a lot neater and clear cut.
> 
> Please read the end notes, I’d like to explain something important.

Log Date: 742  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Virgil  
————————-

His head hurt, that was what he was sure of. Everything else was hazy. Virgil couldn’t remember what he was doing, where he was. And then...he was back at Home Base. With Jason, the Head Technician. Gosh, Virgil could remember this day all too vividly. 

_“Virgil? Can I borrow you a moment?”  
Jason had called from the project he was working on. Virgil took his headphones off; they had been on a low volume so he’d heard the summon - and pushed his hover chair over towards the elder man._

_“What’s up, Doc?”  
Virgil said cheekily, and Jason rolled his eyes, punching Virgil lightly on the shoulder.  
“You make me sound so old.”  
“But that’s because you are old, duh.”  
“Yeah, not too old to give you a shiner, mister.”_

_Jason threatened, but Virgil knew his threats were empty. Jason had taken him under his wing since the day Virgil had earned a position at Home Base. Apart from his parents, he was the only person Virgil put his trust in._

_“Listen, I need you to pop down to deliveries and grab some extra parts for  
M-IND here.”  
“No problem. Package number?”  
“345-TS”  
Virgil mentally wrote down the number and popped his headphones on, heading towards the door._

_“Oh, Virgil!”  
He skidded to a stop and turned back around to face his mentor.  
“Yeah?”  
“I just wanted to ask how your project for one of the astronauts was coming along.”  
“Oh! I’ve almost finished. I just need to pick a name.”  
“Any ideas?”  
The Head Technician asked, a smile growing on his face._

_“A few. But I think I’m going to call it H3AR-T.”_

~

Virgil felt his world sway and a fit of nausea. There were loud panicked voices all around him; a pair of arms gripping him tightly, protectively. One of his eyes opened, and a torch light shone. It was so bright, to the point of near blinding. Why did this hurt so much?

“Okay, he’s responding. Let’s get him to his room.”  
A stern, almost concerned voice spoke. Virgil wanted to say something, but he was so....tired. So sleepy. Perhaps it would be alright to go to sleep again...

~

_“Okay, this is the Weekly Simulation in preparation for Mission Trait-OR.”_

_Thomas Sanders, Head of Home Base, spoke in a commanding yet somewhat endearing voice. Virgil liked Thomas a lot. He was the perfect manager; kind yet tough, fair and brutal, whilst being all-loving all at the same time, of every member._

_Virgil looked on from behind the glass screen at the Ship in front of him. All around, holographic video projectors were ready to cast the image of space around the Simulation Ship which the Astronauts were now boarding. Virgil recognised all of them - Jason he knew personally; Roman he knew through...certain nicknames; Logan Berry and Patton Morales only by name._

_They were the crew for Mission Trait-OR; an important satellite in the depths of Space had gone offline due to mysterious circumstances, despite the many layers of technology that granted its constant safety from meteor showers, solar flares, cosmic storms...even black holes. Therefore, a team needed to be sent out to assess the situation. Three years to reach it...three years to return to Earth._

_Virgil was certainly nervous. In Jason’s absence, he was to become the next Head Technician - of course, he’d received plenty of reassurance that he was more than capable of the role from both his mentor and Thomas Sanders himself. But that didn’t help soothe the nerves much._

_“Everyone buckled in?”  
Thomas asked, his voice echoing through the speakers. The team all replied they were, and Thomas indicated to Virgil to start the simulation._

_They practiced for hours. All the things that could possibly go wrong whilst they were out there, they practiced. How to survive a solar flare, hoe to escape a meteor shower, how to survive a solar flare whilst in a meteor shower...and so on._

_Virgil was there for all of the sessions. Overseeing the operation. He knew about every protocol, every strategy. Making sure that no technical difficulties arose. All the while proving that he was capable on his own; not to his superiors...but to himself._

_Thomas turned off the speaker system to talk to Virgil.  
“Alright. Let’s run this last one and we’ll call it a day. What’s up next?”  
“Uhhhh....”  
Virgil looked down at his controls.  
“Cosmic showers, causing a wing failure and temporary thruster breakdown.”  
“Perfect, let’s run it.”_

_Both Virgil and Thomas watched the progress on the screen. It all seemed to be going well - Roman had transferred power to a different thruster and Logan was re-calibrating the ships internal balance. Patton was finding a path to guide them out of the shower._

_Jason had just stood up to check on the thruster when there was a sudden jolt. Usually, he would have been knocked down, and gotten back up again...but with a scream of pain, Jason fell on his side, gripping his leg._

_Virgil shut down the simulation as Logan ran over to Jason, assessing his leg. But he couldn’t find what was wrong. It was such a small tumble, why was he in so much pain?!_

_Virgil felt his breathing catch in his throat as he reached his mentors side, the beginnings of a panic attack threatening to swallow him whole._

_“It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay...”  
Patton spoke, seeing that Virgil was shaken.  
“It’ll be okay....”_

~

“It’ll be okay...”  
There was a hushed murmuring beside him, muttering the same words over and over again. Whether they were directed at Virgil or not, he found comfort and familiarity in the voice, and allowed himself to be lulled into his subconscious once more. 

~

 _“We understand this is a difficult thing we’re asking you to do.”  
Thomas said, glancing at each of the other members of the crew before directing his question to Virgil._

_“The...the mission...”  
Virgil gripped the sleeves of his hoodie tightly, and Patton rested a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.  
“Take a deep breath, Virgil.”  
Patton soothes him, rubbing his back._

_Virgil swallowed, and tried again.  
“The mission is in two months. And you want me to take Jason’s place?” ___

____

____

_“It’s a lot to ask. But you’re the only one who could pull it off. You know all the Emergency Protocols by heart, you’ve been there for every training session, and you even assisted in the building of ‘PR1NCE’._

_“I...I don’t know about this...”  
“Statistically, Virgil, you are the only person who would be able to take up the role.”  
Logan adjusted his glasses as he spoke. Roman nodded in agreement._

_“B-but....six years...a-alone...”  
Virgil put his head in his hands. He’d received so much information in such a small matter of minutes. _

_Cancer in the leg had caused Jason’s bone to weaken slowly over weeks. The fall he’d experienced was enough to break it, thus exposing the tumour._

_And now...he was to replace the Head Technician on the Mission and be sent out into the depths of space with three people he hardly knew, away from his parents, away from Jason, in an oxygen-vacant Hell, for six years._

_Why wasn’t he having a panic attack?_

_Wait._

_Ah._

_There it is._

_Virgil felt Patton next to him, speaking breathing exercises gently, rubbing his back in attempts to calm him down. But...it wouldn’t work._

_‘I can’t do it I can’t do it I can’t do it I can’t do it I can’t do it I can’t do it...’_

~

Virgil’s eyes flew open with a start, and his breath caught in his throat. It was a dream. It was all a dream. Forgotten memories of the past echoing around in his head.

“Are you alright?”  
A voice asked from next to him. Virgil...didn’t immediately recognise it, but after turning towards the source he discovered it was Patton, sitting by his bedside, concerned features etched into his face. 

Virgil sat up, rubbing his head.  
“Yeah...I think I’m alright, Pat’...”  
He mumbled slowly, eyes adjusting to the bright light that emanated from the torch in Patton’s hand. The ones on Pat’s suit seemed to have stopped working.

“What happened exactly?”  
Virgil asked tentatively, and Patton shrugged in simple reply.  
“I’m not all that sure, if I’m honest. Logan and Roman are in the control room though.”

Virgil cast his mind back, trying to remember everything before he fell unconscious.  
“Were you...uh, talking earlier? Saying that ‘it’s all okay?’”

Patton shook his head, and Virgil sighed. He must have imagined it. 

Patton suddenly looked very guilty...before Virgil could ask anything, the other man spoke up.

“Listen, Virgil. I don’t know how to tell you this gently...”  
Patton scratched his head as Virgil sat up.  
“Janus...escaped.”

Virgil felt his heart drop.  
“What..? But Logan had defences and a cage and-“  
“-and they didn’t work, unfortunately. We’re still trying to figure out why.”

Virgil stood up, grabbing onto Patton’s shoulder to steady himself.

“You okay to walk?”  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine...”  
Virgil let go of the father-figures shoulder, and together they left the room, walking towards the control room. It was very quiet, which was odd for Patton, who was almost always talking about something or other. Virgil watched him closely.

Come to think of it, Patton hadn’t called him ‘kiddo’, hadn’t said a single pun, or even offered Virgil his arm whilst they were walking like he normally would have done. 

_‘Maybe Patton’s really nervous too...’_  
Virgil thought to himself, reaching out to take Patton’s hand. It was very cold...but Virgil dismissed this, since the heating had gone with the generator. 

Upon entering the control room (with a little difficulty, since they had to prise the doors open), Virgil seriously had a revelation as to how much of their ship depends on the generator. The controls were dark. There wasn’t a single holographic screen. The only sources of light came from Logan and Roman’s suit torches, and speckles of star dust spattered across the sky. 

They found Roman and Logan in deep conversation, the ship’s blueprints laid out in front of them. Roman was circling certain parts with a marker, Logan supervising it and pointing out different areas.

Virgil had never seen Roman and Logan so grave. Roman’s brow was arched with concern and worry, yet he still had his tongue sticking out as he always did when concentrating. 

Logan...god, Logan looked a mess. He was constantly adjusting his glasses, running his fingers through his hair. Virgil imagines he was blaming himself somehow for Janus escaping. Gone was the cold exterior, and little emotions seemed to be escaping through. Virgil looked over at Patton, who hadn’t seemed to notice. 

“Virgil! Thank God, you’re okay!”  
There was a gust of wind and a flurry of movement, and Virgil actually felt his feet lift off the ground as he was enveloped in a big hug.  
“Woah, Princey! What’s with the excitement?”  
“I thought you’d died!!!”

Virgil laughed at the joke...before realising that it was in fact, not a joke. Roman was squeezing Virgil so hard he thought he’d pop like a balloon.  
“Roman...I can’t breathe...”  
Virgil struggled, causing the Captain to finally let go of him. They both sheepishly looked away, Roman with a honey-garnet blush dancing across his cheeks. 

“Uh...here, we’ll show you what we’ve been working on.”  
Roman took Virgil’s hand and guided him over to where they’d been working - Patton had already made his way there and was looking over Logan’s shoulder.

“The ships blueprints.”  
Virgil stated bluntly, recognising the familiar papers that he usually kept stored in his room. 

Logan pushed his glasses up his temple once more.  
“Indeed. Roman and I agreed that we should locate parts of the ship where Janus may be hiding. We’ve already marked out the various escape routes he may have taken after escaping confinement.”

“We think it’d be best if we all scouted separate parts of the ship. Once confirming an area is empty, we should be able to manually seal it off. Our own private radios look like they’re working so it shouldn’t be too hard to keep in contact with each other.”  
Roman continued, pointing at the radio system that was embedded in their suits. 

Virgil (a little unwillingly) agreed, and each of them set off to scout different areas. Roman to the kitchen, Patton to the sleeping quarters, Virgil in the basement and Logan checking the areas upper-deck.

So, for the second time that day, Virgil found himself heading down, down into the cave system they called the basement. Dark and eerie without the fluorescent crystalline lights above his head. 

If he’d could only have fixed the generator...that single faulty wire, if he’d just managed to reach it...none of them would be wondering in the black like this. They’d have all the modern technology they were so used to, and he wouldn’t be wondering around aimlessly down hallways that looked the same as the last. 

Virgil kicked the wall angrily. Stupid, really. Patton would tell him not to blame himself. Logan would tell him it wasn’t logical. Roman would say that everything would be alright. 

But Patton wasn’t acting the same. Usually so happy and unfazed by pain and fear...now he was cold and distant. 

Logan wasn’t acting the same. Usually so unperturbed and composed...now he seemed doubtful and irrational. 

Roman...at least Roman was acting the same, Virgil thought with a tiny grin. Still dramatic. Still protective. Still the same old Princey. 

Virgil was determined not to change too. Not to let his anxiety take ahold, today of all days. He’d need to keep his wits about him to scout out the creature, after all. 

_‘Perhaps...perhaps I’ll have one more try at fixing the generator...I’ll be careful this time round...’_

His feet immediately began guiding him toward the source of their power, and soon enough there he was, screwdriver in hand, staring down at it. 

Clearly the first way he’d tried fixing it was dangerous. But...maybe there was another path. If he redirected the main power stream into a smaller one, he’d be able to bypass the original breakage altogether. It wouldn’t be a permanent fix, but it would give them power for a few hours...hopefully enough time to deal with the alien. 

Virgil set to work. It was inky black, it was growing colder by the minute, but he was determined. This is what he was good at. Fixing things, not breaking them. 

Virgil was deep in thought when he was rudely interrupted by footsteps behind him. A prickling sensation of distrust scuttled down his back, and he drew his dagger swiftly, swinging wildly behind him, only to be stopped by a cold hand. 

“Virgil! It’s me!”  
Roman yelled, fear springing in his eyes, reflected by the purple sheen of Virgil’s dagger that wavered dangerously by his face. 

Virgil breathed out in relief.  
“Sorry...I just had this weird feeling...”  
Roman let go of Virgil’s wrist and sighed.  
“It’s alright, Emo Nightmare. We’re all a little shaken.” 

Virgil was...taken aback, by the nickname (especially since Roman said he’d be nicer with them), but wrote it down to nerves. 

“Have you finished patrolling the living quarters already?”  
Virgil asked, kneeling down to the generator once more.  
“Yeah. I couldn’t find anything, so I sealed it off. Vents, doors, etc. Nothing can get in or out.”  
Roman replied swiftly, glancing the broken generator up and down. 

“How are you getting on with that?”  
“Well...I had an idea for fixing it, so I thought I’d try it out.”  
“Has it worked?”  
“Not...exactly, but it’s getting there. I just need a bit more time...”

Virgil looked up at Roman and smiled a little, only to catch the end of an...eye roll?

This really threw him. Roman was over dramatic, yes, but rolling his eyes?! What the hell?!

“What was that for?”  
Virgil asked confrontingly, hurt etched into his features. 

“Oh, it was nothing.”  
Roman waved nonchalantly as Virgil stood up, crossing his arms.  
“It’s not important. I shouldn’t have expected much.”  
“What’s that meant to mean?”

Virgil challenged angrily, his fists unwittingly clenching. 

Roman put up his hands, as if in surrender.  
“Nothing! You’re just...well, the least experienced member. You’re bound to get a little slow.”

Shock radiated through Virgil’s body, and one look at Roman’s red sash, his own stitches ingrained within it, was enough to send him over the edge. 

“What the hell, Roman?! I didn’t ask to be on this ROCK in the middle of space! You know this!”  
“Well, if you’d checked the thrusters before we went into hyper speed, we wouldn’t be here, would we?”

“Roman-“  
“So you really only have yourself to blame.”  
Roman shrugged, acting as if this argument was as insignificant as dust under his shoes.

Virgil took a deep, shaky breath.  
“I checked those thrusters three times. There was nothing wrong with them.”  
“There must have been, though. You can be really careless sometimes, Virgil.”

“I can’t believe this! I thought you trusted me, Roman.”

The Captain shook his head, his expression cold and heartless.  
“Maybe I don’t.”

Virgil felt at a loss for words. What...what was going on? When had his friend grown so mean? Did he do something wrong...?

“I think you should leave.”  
Virgil said harshly, spitting the words with as much venom as he could muster, keeping his eyes pointed to the ground. He was met with no response, only the retreating footsteps of his...co-worker. 

“What the fuck...”  
He mumbled under his breath, rolling the words over his tongue before yelling them again and punching the wall. His hand stung, but this only added to the fuel. 

What the _FUCK?!_

What happened to the jokes and banter? What happened to drinking hot chocolate at midnight? What happened to knowing glances, and taking sneaky pictures of Patton and Logan, and fun training sessions, and shy smiles and small blushes and-

And what happened to the trust that they’d slowly built up over these two years? 

Virgil leaned against the wall, hitting his head against it once before slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. 

Did he do something wrong..?

Did-

...

_‘What did I do wrong...?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My usage of ‘Jason’ in this post is for one purpose: to raise awareness for Cancer.
> 
> I have a friend who experienced the same thing. We were on a bus, they fell off their seat, and suddenly started screaming in pain. They’d broken the largest bone in their leg...all from falling off a chair. 
> 
> The cancer had weakened their bone until it was extremely easy to break. 
> 
> I’d just like to say that cancer can happen to really anyone - and if you know someone who has it, please give them all the support they deserve, because it is life changing. 
> 
> ~
> 
> All seriousness aside - Virgil has a little backstory! I hope I explained it all well. More excitement to come in Chapter 12!


	12. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton realises just how bad he’s made everything when he gets a surprise visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for suspense (or something like that anyway)
> 
> Not much to say other than that :D

Log Date: 742  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Patton  
————————-

_Logan gaped at him, and Patton could already feel the tears forming behind his eyes. As if what he’d just blurted out wasn’t suspicious enough, bursting into tears would metaphorically seal the deal. Logan was lost for words, which is a first, so Patton knew he had to come up with a quick excuse as to why he just asked Logan what he’d do if he was compromised._

_“Are...are you...Patton, Jesus Christ, are you compromised?!”  
Logan asked, uncertainty and concern etched into his usually-stone-faced features._

_“No! No, I’m not! It’s a friend back at home base!”  
Patton frantically covered up his mistake, and Logan relaxed a little.  
“Someone’s...holding something against her...and she doesn’t know what to do.”_

_Patton spoke as calmly as possible, avoiding eye contact with his friend in the instance he saw through the web of lies that Patton was spindling._

_Logan looked sceptical for a moment, but after a few seconds he sighed._

_“Well...not only for the well-being of herself, but the safety of her peers, I believe your friend should tell someone. No matter the secret this person is holding against her; they could use that to get her to do things that could endanger others and herself.”_

_Patton bit his lip. Logan was right...of course he was._

_“Logan, I want to tell you something...”  
Patton said, looking down, his shoulders sagging. It was time to tell the truth._

_“Go ahead, Patton. As I mentioned before, you’re welcome to talk to me.”_

_Patton nodded in agreement, and looked up at Logan.  
“It’s about Jan-“_

_There was a spark overhead, and without warning, the two were plunged into darkness. One second passed, then another, and suddenly the flashlights embedded in their suits came to life, highlighting the shocked expressions that mirrored both their faces._

_“What’s going on? What happened to the lights?”  
Patton asked, looking above and around them._

_“Perhaps it’s just in here.”  
Logan murmured as he manoeuvred over to the door, swinging his medical bag onto his shoulder and opening the door to reveal an equally dark hallway._

_“Curiouser and curiouser...”  
Logan mumbled softly, turning to survey all around him. Patton joined him outside, and his hand drifted towards Logan’s, brushing against his fingers. Logan took it in his gently._

_“Let’s find the others...”  
“Agreed, that would be an adequate plan.”_

_“LOGAN! PATTON! HELP! ITS VIRGIL!”  
Roman’s yells echoed through the hallway, and the two sprinted towards him._

~

Patton sat in front of an unconscious Virgil, who was sleeping peacefully after being thoroughly checked over by Logan. He and Roman were now in the control room, discussing what to do about their escaped prisoner. 

Patton felt cold. Just...cold. If only he’d told the others about Janus, maybe they’d have been able to keep him better confined. Maybe they could have done more...

He could have done _more_. Now it was too late. 

And yet...it would mean telling everyone a secret he’d kept inside for so long. His deepest, darkest shame. Could he really let the lid off those bottled emotions? 

Patton closed his eyes and rested his head on the bed, his knees shifting uncomfortably from where he was kneeling on the floor, but he made no effort to move. 

God, if only he could sleep for like a million years and wait for all this to pass. 

~

Patton jerked awake. He must have drifted off for a second or two. Glancing over at Virgil, he saw the younger man frowning in his sleep, tears trickling down his face. Patton put his hand on the technicians wrist, stroking it gently with a thumb. 

“It’ll be okay...it’ll all be okay...”  
He mumbled, more to himself than to Virgil at this point. 

“More lies, my friend?”

Patton lurched around, throwing an arm over Virgil. The room was empty, but Patton would recognise that creeping feeling down his neck from anywhere. 

“Don’t hide, I know you’re here.”

There was a movement from the shadows in the corner, and suddenly Janus was illuminated by Patton’s shoulder flashlight. Or...Patton was pretty sure it was Janus.

He’d changed. No, no...he’d _evolved._ Taking on a human-like form, Janus donned a space suit quite like his own, but instead of light blue and white, it was black with yellow patches. His face looked like a mix of everyones on the ship. He had Roman’s hair, Logan’s bone structure, Virgil’s nose and Patton’s eyes. Or rather, Patton’s eye. Once was a silky honey brown, and the other a yellow slit - it was surrounded by emerald jewels that traveled down the entire left side of his face. A scalene human. 

“Like my new look?”  
Janus asked, turning on the spot. Patton was horrified that such a creature could look as human as himself.

“I tried to take inspiration from you all, naturally.”  
The alien said as he admired himself in the mirror. Patton felt his hand close around Virgil’s dagger. 

“Won’t you say something?”  
Janus stepped closer to Patton. In a flash, Patton drew the dagger and swiped at him, catching Janus near the waist. Green blood oozed out the wound. 

With a yell, Janus backhanded Patton, knocking him to the ground. He kicked the dagger from the cooks hand, and then pushed him to the wall. 

“You’ll pay for that!”  
He growled, and Patton spat at him. 

“Give yourself in! You won’t get away with this.”  
Patton spoke, gently touching his cheek. It would definitely swell. 

Janus laughed - the same laugh that made Patton shiver with fear. His fear morphed to horror though, as he watched Janus’ features contort. His scales disappeared, his yellow eye turned brown - his face and outfit fully changed. 

Patton found himself looking at...himself. 

Removing Patton’s glasses and putting them on, Janus stood, and then took the hoodie from Patton’s shoulders and tied it around his waist to hide the bleeding wound that was unable to morph like the rest of his body. 

“Oh...my dear Patton.”  
Janus spoke, his forked tongue flicking out once before changing to a human one. 

“I already have gotten away with it.”

With a quick punch to the face...Patton knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand cliffhanger! What else were you expecting?


	13. IMPOSTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan experiences many emotions that he hasn’t felt for such a long time - grief, confusion, clarity...and betrayal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say at the beginning of this Chapter...just the looming feeling of school hanging over my shoulder T-T

Log Date: 743  
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Logan  
————————

Logan wasn’t handling things well, to say the least. It was his fault Janus had escaped, it must have been. Janus was his responsibility to watch over, and he’d failed even as small a task as that, being easily distracted by meaningless things like...emotions. 

First and foremost, emotions were dangerous, and would always be dangerous. It had been so easy to teach himself to suppress feelings when he was a child, when he was alone, with only books and the stars for company. Why was it so difficult now? Things weren’t all that different. He still had his books, he had all the stars he could ever need. 

_‘You’re not alone, though.’_  
A stray thought echoed in his head. Stopping in the corridor he was patrolling, Logan felt a small flicker of joy. That was right. He was no longer alone. He had friends. Virgil and Roman, and...and Patton. Wonderful, innocent Patton. So full of emotions, so full of life was Patton. Logan’s polar opposite in every way. 

_‘Opposites attract.’_  
A bubble of a memory surfaced from his Physics classes. Opposites attract. Could that be true for...love?

Logan scoffed. Love. If he wasn’t careful he’d be spouting poems and about romance next. Ridiculous. Focus on the task at hand, Logan, you’re getting distracted again. What mattered at the moment was ~~Patton’s~~ EVERYONE’S safety. 

Logan heard footsteps echoing up the hallway behind him, and drawing his blaster from where it was strapped on his leg, he pointed it down the hallway.

“Who’s there?”  
He called, and Virgil stepped into the light of Logan’s suit beams, carrying a torch himself. The lights on his suit seemed to have cut out like Patton’s had before. Odd, since the batteries were long lasting, but that was besides the point. 

“Virgil.”  
Logan sighed.  
“It’s just you.”  
Nodding in response, Virgil pointed to Logan’s weapon.  
“Yeah, you can put the pea-shooter away.”  
Logan hastened to strap it back in place.  
“Right, sorry. Come on, we’ll talk in the control room.”

It didn’t take long to reach their destination, and Logan dropped into a chair, leaning back and running his fingers through his hair, letting the stress fill his body. 

Virgil circled the chair.  
“I tried to get the generator working again, but it’s no good. It’s far gone, and still sparking dangerously. We have to wait for the excess electricity to dissipate before I can even think of going near it.”

“I couldn’t see the alien down there either. We’re starting to run out of options, Lo’.”

Virgil sat down into the chair opposite Logan and sighed; a long, heavy sigh that spoke of fatigue and exhaustion. Logan felt prompted to see if Virgil was alright. 

“Are you okay, Virgil? That was a very long sigh, implying a calming method to settle nerves or anxiety.”  
Logan blurted out the fact in his brain, as if wanting to fill the silence between them. 

However, it did surprise him when Virgil scoffed.  
“You’re asking me if I’m okay?”  
The purple-haired man asked, sitting forwards to look at Logan. 

“Well, yes. I care for your well-being and general happiness, and-“  
“When did you start caring about other people’s feelings?”  
“What...do you mean?”

Virgil shrugged, smirking at the uncertainty and confusion painted clearly on Logan’s face. 

“I didn’t know you were capable of feeling, that’s all.”  
Virgil stood from his chair and slowly walked around towards Logan.  
“Well...I am capable of feeling, Virgil, but as you know, I tend to suppress these feelings in order to make full use of my brain.” 

“Doesn’t that just make you a robot?”

Ouch. That one hurt. But in some level...Logan couldn’t help but agree. 

“I...I guess...you’re kind of right...”  
Logan mumbled, something he’d only done three times in his life.  
“But it doesn’t make me completely devoid of being a human.”

Virgil stepped behind Logan’s chair, putting his hands on the back of it, dominating. 

“I beg to differ. It makes you...cold, Logan. You’re cold-hearted, cold-blooded and cold in general. Nobody could ever love you...and even if they did, Logan, could you even love them back?”

Virgil removed his hands from the chair.  
“I’m going to go find Roman.”

He stopped near the doorway.  
“How about you sit and think about that for a while?”  
Virgil ‘s last words hung in the room as he prised open the control room doors, allowing them to slide back into place once he’d left. 

Logan sat, dumbstruck. He was never dumbstruck. He was never confused frankly. It wasn’t often he felt hurt, or betrayed. 

A sob escaped from him, and Logan covered his mouth in surprise. Don’t cry, don’t cry. They’re words, just words, they’re not true. Virgil was just scared, and was acting out in his fear irrationally. 

But Logan’s words were empty, and he knew it. Curling up in the chair, Logan fought to keep the locked lid closed in his body, lest he allowed his emotions to escape.

_‘Don’t cry, don’t cry...suppress, suppress...’_

~

It took about an hour, but Logan had pulled himself together again. He could properly console himself later, when the creature was behind bars once again.

Logan was about to summon everyone back, when all of a sudden Roman burst into the room, fuming. 

“Incapable?! Idiotic?! Of all the things to say, that was crossing a line!”  
He hadn’t appeared to notice Logan sitting there, so he stood, approaching Roman carefully. 

“Roman, what-“  
The Captain rounded on Logan, anger etched into all his features. You could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears.  
“Oh, so NOW I’m Roman, huh?! What happened to calling me a lousy, pathetic Captain?!”  
He yelled, startling Logan.

“I never called you that, though.”  
“Don’t act like you don’t know! You know exactly what you said.”  
“I can assure you, Roman-“

Roman jabbed his finger at Logan’s chest, puffing his cheeks out angrily.  
“I don’t want to hear it! Not if you’re going to insult me again!”  
Raising his hands in mock defeat, Logan shook his head.  
“I never even insulted you in the first place!”

At that moment, the control room doors opened again, and Virgil entered. The lights on his suit appeared to be working once more, so the torch had clearly been abandoned. Logan, remembering the events from earlier, crossed his arms and looked away from Virgil.

“Logan, I couldn’t get the generator to work. We’ll have to wait for the excess electricity to dissipate...before...”  
Virgil trailed off as he saw Roman. 

“Oh. You’re here.”  
Roman’s shoulders sagged in relief.  
“Virgil! Good, at least there’s once person who hasn’t been a dick to me here.”  
He glared at Logan accusingly, who could only stare back surprised in reply. 

“Yeah, but you’ve been a dick to me.”  
Virgil crossed his arms, turning his head away from Roman. 

Taken aback, Roman stepped towards Virgil.  
“What do you mean? I haven’t-“

“Jesus Christ, Roman! Stop acting like you don’t know what you said to me!”  
He yelled, wiping his eyes quickly before aggressively hissing at Roman. 

It was so tense you could cut the air with a knife. Virgil glared at Roman, who was too busy trying to act surprised and angry at Logan at the same time. Logan glanced between the two of them, before taking a deep breath. There had to be a solution to all this incessant bickering, and he would bet that it wasn’t due to cabin fever. 

Logan looked over at Virgil.  
“Okay...calmly, please, tell me what Roman said to you.”  
Virgil huffed, crossing his arms for the second time to exercise his frustration.  
“Roman called me the weakest of the group, and said that I shouldn’t be on this mission. He said...I was letting the team down.”  
His body sagged, and Roman looked over in complete shock. 

“I’ve never said anything of the sort to you!”  
“Roman, are you quite sure you didn’t-“  
Logan began, but stopped as Roman’s face shifted from confusion to anger.

“Oh, no! I’m not listening to you!”  
Huffing like a two year old, Roman turned away from Logan.

“Please, Roman, don’t cut me off. What did I do to you?”  
Roman jabbed his finger at Logan again. 

“You called me a second-rate Captain! Saying I was ‘incapable of looking after this ship and it’s occupants’, and that Home Base should never appointed someone as idiotic as me. Then you called me....”

Roman trailed off, clutching his sash in his hand and tracing the faint red stitches on it.  
“You called me a bully...”  
That last remark seemed to sting the most, and Roman looked utterly defeated. 

Putting a hand to his chin, Logan hummed.  
“How odd...you say I said these things to you, and yet I can’t have done. I was up here the whole time, talking to Virgil.”

Virgil looked over at him.  
“Talking with me? I’ve been in the basement the whole time though. Roman knows, he came down to talk to me.”

“Virgil, you’re mistaken. I’ve been patrolling the kitchen and living room...”

Suddenly, they all looked at each other, realisation dawning on their faces like the sun rising on a new day. 

“We need to find Patton.”  
Logan began, just as the control room doors opened and Patton stepped in, holding a torch to light his way.

“Heya guys, no sign of the alien anywhere in the sleeping quarters. How did you three get along?”

He asked, stepping closer. Logan, Virgil and Roman all exchanges a glance. 

Eerie silence filled the room for a moment, until Logan made an executive decision. He slowly walked towards Patton. 

“Hey...Pat’? Can I ask you a question?”  
He began, seeing Roman and Virgil advance behind him out the corner of his eyes. 

“Of course, Logan! Ask away.”  
Patton said cheerily, shrugging and smiling, oblivious to the tension hanging in the air. 

“You remember a few nights ago, when you and I had the pillow fight? We had been talking about the amount of stars in the universe.”

Patton nodded, following the conversation.  
“Well...I got the meaning of a word wrong, and you corrected me.”

Roman put his hand on the handle of his sword, and Virgil slipped his hand into his pocket where his dagger was.

“What was that word, Patton?”  
Logan asked, watching his colleague very carefully. 

Patton’s smile dropped, and he hesitated. A flash of sinister yellow crossed against his eyes momentarily. 

It was all Logan needed. Drawing his blaster, he charged it up, and pointed the barrel towards the imposters chest.

“That’s not Patton.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I hear a cliffhanger? :)


	14. Oddball Agreement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when all is looking dim, a mutual agreement is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaannndd we’re back! After many months, I know. I’m sorry it’s been so long. I found myself in the BIGGEST slump and I was so bored of the storyline. Howeverrr, I’ve found new love for it, and hopefully should be finishing it soon-ish. Maybe. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter! It is short, mainly because of the writers block, but it definitely takes off the pressure of the cliffhanger from the last chapter.

Log Date: 743   
Mission Trait-OR  
POV: Roman.   
————————

It was all Roman needed. He drew his sword without hesitation, lunging forwards in a speedy strike and slashing. The imposter shrunk away, faster than any human would ever be able to; his lie, having been seen through, melted away, his features melting into a half-scalene, slit eyed creature, his body, taking on a cloaked garment. Everyone froze, watching this horrible transformation, and in the moment of hesitation, Janus slinked down the hallway. 

Roman pulled himself together and charged after him, the other two not far behind.   
“How did we not notice he was gone?!”  
Roman heard Virgil yell from behind.   
“He’s been impersonating us to create discord in our group, ensuring we’d argue and miss his disappearance!”  
Logan yelled back, and a realisation hit Roman.  
“That’s why Patton was holding a torch! His suit lights weren’t working because it wasn’t a real suit! It was part of his appearance!”

Janus slipped round a corner, disappearing into the darkness, and Roman skidded after him, determined to find out what happened to Patton.   
‘Not my family you bastard, not my family.’   
Roman thought, gaining speed every second. Logan and Virgil could only hope to catch up. 

Roman turned another corner and heard a slam as a door ahead slammed shut. The kitchen. 

Roman banged his fists against the barricade. Unlike the Colonel ship, the doors on the PR1NCE were sleek and modern; designed to withstand the strongest blasts from their Fusion Rifles. Grunting, the Captain pulled as hard as he could on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. 

“Dammit!”  
Roman yelled, kicking the door in anger. Logan and Virgil rounded the corner, and Virgil looked up at the door, thinking.   
“Can you programme it to open?”  
Logan asked, but Virgil shook his head.   
“There’s not an ounce of electricity being produced in the generator. That door isn’t going to open anytime soon.”

“So what do we do, wait for the bastard to open it himself?!”  
Roman kicked angrily at the door, to which Logan sighs and puts a hand on the Captains shoulder.   
“Kicking the door won’t make him open it any faster. Let me think.”  
Logan glanced the door up and down.

“What if we introduced an external power source? Such as the torches on our suits?”  
“I’d need three power packs to have enough energy, and we can’t afford to go in there not being able to see.” 

Logan’s eyes drifted down to Virgil’s dagger, that was sitting in his hand.  
“Well, what about the crystals in the Fusion Weapons?”  
Virgil’s eyes lit up.   
“Logan, you’re a genius!”  
He cried, and opened the compartment on his knife, only to realise that Janus had stolen the crystal.   
“Roman, give me yours.”  
“Why should I give you mine?!”  
“Now is not the time to argue about this Princey!”  
Virgil yelled as he threw open the hatch for the door. 

Roman begrudgingly gave him the crystal, and after a few sparks the door powered up. The group dashed in, Logan with his blaster aloft in preparation for what was to come. There, a horrific sight greeted them. Patton, with tears running down his face, his hands desperately trying to pry away the tentacles that were wrapped around his throat. 

“Back off, or I swear, I will kill your friend.”  
Janus hissed, the intent in his eyes clear. For the first time in his life, Logan hesitated. Roman made the choice for him, taking the blaster out of Logan’s hands and placing it slowly onto the floor. 

“Push it over.”  
The creature demanded, and Roman kicked it over with his foot. 

Logan looked at Patton, the fear in his eyes laid bare for all to see.  
“Pat, we’re going to get you out of this, you hear me?”  
Logan spoke slowly. Patton bit his lip, nodding slightly, but the tears didn’t stop pouring. 

“Why are you doing this?”  
Virgil snarled, emotions running high. he was gripping the sleeves of his hoodie tightly, fresh anger wavering through his blood. Janus gave him a cold stare in return. 

“I know of your kind, of your filth. You think you’re alone in this universe, you think you are the only dominant race.”  
A cold, unforgiving chuckle flowed fresh from his gaping jaw.  
“Oh, you poor naive humans. You have no idea what else is out there. You have no idea how many species of what you have called ‘aliens’ exist. Just as you have been studying space...my kind has been studying you. We know of your wars, your treachery - it is in your blood to crave destruction and dominance.”

“But... not all humans are like that!”  
Roman cried.   
“Some are sweet, kind...they hate violence. Some just wish for peace...”  
“And those people are killed mercilessly by those who want war.”  
Janus replied.  
“Don’t try and trick me with your playful words. I can see the lies floating around your mouth; you stink of misinformation. You do not even trust your own words, pathetic human. Besides...I have experienced the filth of your kind myself. On that other ship; the one that came before.”

“The colonel ship?”  
Logan observed, straightening his glasses.   
“What about it?”

“They captured not only me...but my companion. My partner, as you earthlings would put it. They analysed us, studied us like animals in a cage. They tortured him to the point of murder. And they would have done to me, too, had I not slaughtered them first...”

“We were alone! We...we were frightened! All I want...all we wanted...was to go home.”  
The creature grip tightened around Patton, who gasped at the added pressure, his hands still trying to pry away the appendages.   
“I swore, that day, to kill every single one of you who dared venture out into these parts again. And I will. I shall kill each of you on this ship, as painfully as I did to those before you.”

Virgil, with fear in his eyes, edged towards Roman, who took his hand and gripped it tightly.   
‘Not like this...please, not like this...’  
Roman thought to himself, watching Patton. They were going to die on this ship, all of them. He’d never see home again, never see his family again...he’d die, in the cold clutches of space.

~

Logan swallowed harshly. This was a tough situation, and frankly was one that had never come up during their training. Intense meteor showers? Check. Losing communication with other team members? Check. Surviving scorching and freezing temperatures with only a towel? Check.   
Negotiating for a friend, nay, a crush’s life whilst stuck on an unexplored moon in an unknown solar system with no power, leverage, weapons, heat, light, or patience?  
Not an ounce of training could have prepared Logan for this.

However...maybe not all was lost.

Logan cleared his throat, drawing the monsters attention to him.   
“You mentioned that you could supposedly...um, sense the lies around Roman. Quite fascinating. Would you care to elaborate?”  
“Jesus Christ, Logan, is the really time for a biology lesson?! We’re going to die, can’t you see?”  
Virgil yelled at the geek, who shrugged in return.  
“What can I say? I am very interested in this peculiar species. It is rather intriguing, if I say so myself.”

Janus stared very hard at Logan, as if analysing the air around him. The man maintained his composure.  
“I...see them. They’re like whispers of smoke flitting about the body...I am quite like those peculiar ‘lie detectors’ that you have on you planet. So odd...there are far easier ways to tell these sorts of things...truly, humans are so far underdeveloped.”

Logan cleared his voice once more.  
“Well then...I would like to propose a compromise. You release our companion...and I swear to you, we will not harm you at all.”

“Since you can tell that I am not lying,” Logan said as he straightened his gasses with a slight air of smugness. “You have every reason to trust me.”

Janus scoffed, and drew back. “I do not need your word for that. I can walk out this ship easily by killing all four of you. You have nothing to offer me. No legs to stand on.”   
“Logan, what are you doing...?” Roman mumbled, keeping a trained eye on the creature.   
“I beg to differ, Janus. I can offer you the one thing you don’t have access to.”

“And what is that?” Janus spat.  
“A safe passage to your home.”

~

Roman started forwards, grabbing Logan by the arm.   
“A-a safe passage?!” He spluttered, looking once at the creature, (who seemed just as shell-shocked) and then at Logan.  
“Yes, Roman. Logically, we can all get what we want in this situation. Janus here wants to return home...we want to, well, not die.”

Logan raised an eyebrow to Roman.  
“But; at the end of the day, Roman, this is your ship. You have the final word. Not that I think we have much of a choice. Regardless...”

Logan took a step back, his part finished. He concern only remained with Patton now.   
Roman pinched his brow. He could jeopardise the crews safety by trusting this creature: if it were true that he can tell if they’re lying, he knows they can be trusted, but this sentiment isn’t returned the other way around.  
On the other hand...there was the option of death, which in all honesty, wasn’t appealing in the slightest. 

Roman stepped towards the alien, and outstretched his hand. Janus took a moment, watching the tensions in Romans shoulders, the slight tremor in his arm. None spoke of a backstab waiting to happen. 

With a sigh, Janus took Romans hand with his own, and released Patton. Logan darted forwards to aid the traumatised man, and assessed him for any signs of asphyxiation, before promptly hugging him as tight as his body would allow.  
“I thought I’d lost you.” Logan whispered to Patton, the emotion flowing forward, unwillingly unleashed.  
Patton smiled softly and returned the sentiment, replying “I’m not lost yet, Logie...” before a wave of nausea overtook him, and his eyes closed faintly. Virgil paled further, despite already being as white as a sheet.  
“Pat! Is he alright?”  
He asked Logan frantically, who nodded reassuringly in response.  
“It’s alright,” he said, “it’s just the adrenaline running low. Patton has been through a lot.”

The two of them looked over at Roman, who, with a gritted jaw, had let go of the aliens’ hand and seemed as if he was torn between running to Patton and punching the Janus in the face. The alien looked quite the same, his face contoured in a disgusted look as he wiped his hand on his clothes. 

“Gotta find some gloves or something...” Janus mumbled.  
“What. Is that. Supposed. To mean?” Roman growled back.   
Janus resorted to the sticking out of his tongue, and Roman took a menacing step forwards.   
“Stop it. Both of you. We’re all going to have to get along under this roof.”  
Logan spoke menacingly, take Patton protectively in his arms.   
“Now I’m going to take Pat to the medical lab. Virgil, you would do well to try and get some kind of heat in this ship before we freeze. Roman...”

He glared at the captain, something Roman found he was very unaccustomed to.  
“Don’t kill the hitchhiker, got it?”  
“Y-yes...”  
Roman nodded, averting his gaze. Janus scoffed.  
“And I thought you were meant to be the Captain.” He breathed, gaining a rude look from the man in question; Janus slipped away before he could cause any real damage.

Roman ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t even know where to begin. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to Mission Control?!   
‘Oh, by the way, we’re friends with the alien now, and we’re going to take him back to his home planet; the first ever alien life ever encountered by a human, and we’re gonna take him home. Hope you don’t mind!’

Roman sat down on the floor. There was no way to hide this. Mission Control would know if they veered off course. They didn’t know how many years this journey could add to their mission. Surely they didn’t have enough fuel nor resources to even make it. And who’s to say the rest of Janus’...kind....won’t be hostile to them?!

Roman knocked his head on the counter, trying to think of a solution. That was what he did. He was Captain.

Oh god. He was Captain. Lying to Mission Control, putting his crew’s lives in danger, protecting a prisoner; this went against everything he trained for, everything he stood for. All his training, all his promises. Broken. He was a terrible Captain. They never should have gotten into this situation in the first place. It was reckless to climb onto the Colonel ship without knowing everything about it first. He should never have let Virgil come with him. And they shouldn’t have let the creature come on to their ship. That was the worst thing they could have done. 

Roman was throw back to his training days, back in the Academy, back with Commander Sanders.   
‘“You’re a good leader, Roman. You’ve got your head on straight on your shoulders. But you can be reckless - sometimes, that is good. But sometimes, it can be your downfall.”’

“Reckless...”  
He murmured to himself, feeling completely dejected. He rubbed his eyes, sighing to himself, before gritting hid teeth and standing up.   
This wasn’t time for feeling down. He had to come up with a plan; somehow they had to either convince Mission Control to let them do this, or think of a way to lie to them convincingly. They had to get their power back up, and figure out where Janus’ home planet was. That was what they has to do first.

After that...Roman didn’t even know where to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I hear agreement? Yes! They’re gonna play nice. Also, shoutout to those who get my HGTTG joke, you guys are real
> 
> Haven’t proof-read, I’m tired, quarantine takes it out of you. Will fix this later.


End file.
